This photo gallery highlights some of the top news images, made by Associated Press photographers in Latin America and the Caribbean, published in the past week.
A powerful earthquake shattered midday activities in Mexico City and surrounding states, sending panicked people by the tens of thousands fleeing from workplaces, schools and homes as clouds of dust billowed up from collapsing buildings.
Once the shock wore off, many people rushed to wrecked buildings and began tearing at debris in a frantic search for survivors. Dozens were pulled out alive, but the death toll climbed toward 300 in the first 48 hours – the worst since the disastrous quake of 1985 that killed thousands in Mexico’s capital.
In this Sept. 20, 2017 photo, rescue workers search for people trapped inside a collapsed building in the Del Valle area of Mexico City. Mexicans across the city are digging through collapsed buildings, trying to save people trapped in debris under schools, homes and businesses, toppled by a 7.1 earthquake that killed more than 200 people. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Other Mexicans quickly began collecting food, water and other necessities for people made homeless by the magnitude 7.1 quake.
The Caribbean suffered its own blow as Hurricane Maria, the second Category 5 storm this month, swept through an area already hit by powerful Hurricane Irma.
Maria first swept over the small, mountainous island of Dominica, killing 15 people and tearing roofs off by the hundreds, including the one on the prime minister’s official residence.
The storm hit St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, before becoming the first hurricane in decades to make a direct hit on Puerto Rico, where it killed two people. And it left the U.S. territory completely without power.
Guatemalans reacted angrily when lawmakers passed legislation to reduce the punishment for illegal campaign financing, and the storm of criticism led congress to repeal the measure two days later. Opponents called the measure an attempt to reverse the country’s fight to rein in corruption.
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This photo gallery was curated by photographer Ariana Cubillos in Caracas, Venezuela.
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AP photographers and photo editors on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP/lists/ap-photographers
In this Sept. 19, 2017 photo, a man is rescued from a collapsed building in the Condesa neighborhood after an earthquake struck Mexico City. A mix of neighborhood volunteers, police and firefighters used trained dogs and their bare hands to search through the ruins for survivors. (AP Photo/Pablo Ramos)
In this Sept. 20, 2017 photo, a family attends the wake of an earthquake victim, under a tarpaulin serving as a makeshift shelter, in Jojutla, Morelos state, Mexico. People in the Mexican city of Jojutla are mourning those killed by yesterday’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
In this Sept. 19, 2017 photo, an injured man is pulled out of a building that collapsed during an earthquake in the Roma Norte neighborhood of Mexico City. A powerful earthquake jolted central Mexico on Tuesday, causing buildings to sway sickeningly in the capital on the anniversary of a 1985 quake that did major damage. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
In this Sept. 19, 2017 photo, a man walks through a door frame of a building that collapsed during a 7.1 magnitude earthquake, in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
I this Sept. 19, 2017 photo, a street clown arrives to help the the recovery and search of victims at a collapsed building after a 7.1 earthquake in Mexico City. The earthquake stunned central Mexico, killing more than 200 people as buildings collapsed in plumes of dust. (AP Photo/Gustavo Martinez Contreras)
In this Sept. 20, 2017 photo, a car sits crushed from a building felled by a 7.1 earthquake, in Jojutla, Morelos state, Mexico. Efforts continue at the scenes of dozens of collapsed buildings, where firefighters, police, soldiers and civilians continue their search to reach the living. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
In this Sept. 19, 2017 photo, volunteers pick up the rubble from a building that collapsed during an earthquake in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City. Survivors quickly rallied, clambering over grotesque ruins of buildings and joining professional rescue workers to try to save friends, neighbors and strangers. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
In this Sept. 20, 2017 photo, workers rescue a religious statue from the heavily damaged former convent of San Juan Bautista, in Tlayacapan, Morelos state, Mexico. People by the millions rushed from homes and offices across central Mexico, after a 7.1 earthquake, sometimes watching as buildings they had just fled fell behind them with an eruption of dust and debris. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
In this Sept. 16, 2017 photo, hundreds of military troops hold placards to create a mosaic of Petronilo Monroy’s allegorical figure The Constitution, during the annual Independence Day military parade in Mexico City’s main square. Mexico is marking the 207th anniversary of its independence from Spain. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
In this Sept. 15, 2017 photo, protestors chant against Congressman Fernando Montenegro as he enters Congress in Guatemala City. Congress has called an extraordinary session to discuss approved legislation that reduces punishments for illegal campaign financing and opens the possibility of replacing up to 10 year prison sentences with fines. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
In this Sept. 15, 2017 photo, an anti-narcotics police officer slashes open a seized package of cocaine, which carries an “Adidas” look-alike label, during a drug destruction operation near La Chorrera, Panama. According to police, they burned at least nine tons of cocaine and marijuana seized in drug operations within the last two months. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
In this Sept. 19, 2017 photo, government supporters march past a street performer working hula hoops around his neck, during an anti-imperialist demonstration, in Caracas, Venezuela. In his debut address to the U.N. General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump says the socialist government in Venezuela has brought a once-thriving nation to the “brink of collapse.” Trump accused its President Nicolas Maduro of stealing power from elected representatives to preserve his “disastrous rule.” (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
In this Sept. 16, 2017 photo, U.S. singer Fergie performs at the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Sept. 18, 2017 photo, demonstrators hold pictures of Santiago Maldonado, right, and Julio Lopez, left, during a protest to demand their appearance in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Julio Lopez disappeared 11 years ago, shortly after being a witness on a trail on crimes against humanity and Santiago Maldonado, who disappeared Aug. 1, 2017.(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
In this Sept. 16, 2017. photo, a soldier embraces a woman before the start of the annual Independence Day military parade in Mexico City’s main square, known as the Zocalo. Mexico is marking the 207th anniversary of its independence from Spain. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
In this Sept. 16, 2017 photo, a music fan poses for the photo against an angel wings’ mural at the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Sept. 16, 2017 photo, fans of the Brazilian band Blitz cheer during a their perform at the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 10-day music festival is one of the largest in the world. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Sept. 20, 2017 photo, a woman covers herself with a plastic bag as she makes her way to work as Hurricane Maria approaches the coast of Bavaro, Dominican Republic. (AP Photo/Tatiana Fernandez)
In this Sept. 20, 2017 photo, rescue team members Candida Lozada, left, and Stephanie Rivera, second from left, Mary Rodriguez, second from right, and Zuly Ruiz, right, embrace as they wait to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Humacao, Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
In this Sept. 19, 2017 photo, evacuee Guillermina Reyes, 90, sits with with her pet dog Blackie at the Juan Ponce de Leon Elementary School before the arrival of Hurricane Maria, in Humacao, Puerto Rico. The island took a direct hit by the category the hurricane. Authorities warned people who live in wooden or flimsy homes should find safe shelter before the storm’s expected arrival on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
In this Sept. 21, 2017, trees stand stripped of their foliage by the winds of Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. As of Thursday evening, Maria was moving off the northern coast of the Dominican Republic with winds of 120 mph (195 kph). The storm was expected to approach the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas late Thursday and early Friday. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
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