Global Pulse

标签： South America

南美洲

  • Conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori wins Peru’s presidential election in a runoff

    Conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori wins Peru’s presidential election in a runoff

    LIMA, PERU – In a closely contested election outcome finalized on Friday, conservative contender Keiko Fujimori has been officially certified as the president-elect of Peru, capping off a fourth consecutive bid for the nation’s highest office shaped overwhelmingly by voter anxiety over skyrocketing criminal activity. The 51-year-old politician, daughter of disgraced former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, will assume office later this month to become the country’s ninth head of state in just one decade, a statistic that underscores the persistent political volatility South America’s third-largest economy has faced in recent years.

    Peru’s national election authority formally validated the razor-thin victory Friday, bringing an end to vote tabulation processes that stretched for days after the June 7 runoff. Final official data, released in full this week after all 100 percent of ballots were counted, shows Fujimori secured 9,223,000 votes, equivalent to 50.135 percent of the total electorate. Her opponent, nationalist congressman Roberto Sánchez, followed closely with 9,173,000 votes, or 49.865 percent, leaving the margin of victory thinner than 0.3 percentage points.

    Both candidates advanced to the two-person runoff after emerging as the top two vote-getters in an April general election that fielded a total of 35 candidates. Throughout the runoff campaign, public discourse centered heavily on one pressing issue that resonated with voters across demographic groups: the rapid growth of organized crime and the associated surge in public insecurity, particularly the widespread extortion rackets run by violent criminal gangs across the country. Fujimori built her campaign platform around a hardline pledge to crack down on criminal activity with an uncompromising approach, a policy pitch that appealed to voters frustrated by the failure of previous administrations to curb rising violence.

    The incoming president’s political legacy is deeply tied to that of her late father, Alberto Fujimori, who served as Peru’s president through the 1990s. While the elder Fujimori is widely credited for defeating the violent Shining Path extremist insurgency that terrorized Peru through the 1980s and early 1990s, his administration drifted into authoritarian rule, and he was ultimately convicted in 2009 on two counts: human rights abuses committed during counterinsurgency operations, and separate corruption charges. Keiko Fujimori’s rise to the presidency marks a major milestone for the Fujimori political dynasty, which has remained a divisive but powerful force in Peruvian politics for more than 30 years.

  • As World Cup fever grips Brazil, scrutiny mounts over its sports betting industry

    As World Cup fever grips Brazil, scrutiny mounts over its sports betting industry

    For a nation as deeply infatuated with soccer as Brazil, the arrival of a FIFA World Cup traditionally brings only one dominant conversation across the country: the fate of the iconic green and yellow national team. This year, however, a far more troubling topic has pushed its way to the forefront of public discourse: the explosive proliferation of sports betting advertisements that have saturated every corner of Brazilian life, amid a nationwide gambling surge that has left thousands trapped in crippling debt and driven a dramatic spike in addiction rates.

  • Puppy love as dog walker turns his pack of 13 into Argentina jersey-clad World Cup followers

    Puppy love as dog walker turns his pack of 13 into Argentina jersey-clad World Cup followers

    As World Cup fever sweeps across Argentina, ahead of the nation’s round of 32 knockout match against Cape Verde, one Buenos Aires local has reimagined what it means to show national team pride – by turning a pack of 13 pet dogs into the country’s most charming street-side fan group.

    Thirty-three-year-old Nahuel Meneghini, known affectionately to locals as “Nano”, is a professional dog walker who operates in the central Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Cristóbal. Inspired by Argentina’s progression out of the group stage of the tournament, he launched his unique fan project last week, outfitting every dog in his daily pack in official-style Argentina national team jerseys, custom light blue and white leashes, and matching collars.

    Meneghini first got the idea after two of his regular walking clients’ dogs, Sirio and Roberta, arrived already sporting Messi’s iconic number 10 jerseys, purchased by their caught up in the country’s World Cup excitement. He loved the concept so much that he expanded it to the whole pack: he visited a local pet supply store to source jerseys in sizes to fit every dog, and handcrafted matching branded leashes and collars for the group.

    The custom leashes bear three small metal rivets, each marking one of Argentina’s three historic World Cup titles – won in 1978, 1986, and most recently 2022 under current head coach Lionel Scaloni. Collars are tagged with the group’s official name, “Los perros de Nano”, or Nano’s Dogs. The pack’s social media nickname, “La Perroneta”, is a playful twist on “La Scaloneta”, the beloved nickname for Scaloni’s Argentina squad, who have earned widespread national adoration after winning the 2021 Copa América, 2022 Finalissima, and the 2022 World Cup.

    Dressed in Argentina fan gear from head to toe himself, Meneghini skillfully guides his 13 four-legged fans along the narrow sidewalks of San Cristóbal, covering roughly 60 blocks across the city almost every day. Passersby consistently stop to smile, pull out their phones to snap photos, and cheer on the pack and the national team. Local residents have embraced the group wholeheartedly: many dog owners in the neighborhood have already placed orders to have their own pets outfitted with matching gear, which Meneghini offers at a discounted rate to fellow fans.

    Eighty-year-old local Edgardo Pérez, who stopped to photograph the group, noted that the joyful display is a rare bright spot for working people and retirees in the country, saying “These are the only joys we have because nothing ever goes our way, not for workers or retirees. Everything is against us.” Seventy-three-year-old Dora Maisano echoed that warm sentiment, calling the display genuine patriotism. “Now that is patriotism,” she said as she watched the pack pass. “Not just peeing and pooping. Everyone wearing the No. 10. Well done, congratulations — they look so cute!”

    Speaking to the Associated Press during a walk with the pack Thursday, Meneghini said he created the project out of his own love for the national team, his country, and the World Cup. He added that the dogs will keep their national team gear “forever” – even if Argentina is eliminated from the 2026 tournament. Still, he remains optimistic about the team’s chances, saying “But I have faith that we’ll win a fourth cup. After the fourth one, I’ll add another rivet to the leashes.”

  • As her 180-day mandate expires, Venezuela’s acting leader defends quake response

    As her 180-day mandate expires, Venezuela’s acting leader defends quake response

    Eight days after powerful twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela’s northern coastal state of La Guaira, interim President Delcy Rodríguez has broken her weeks-long silence to publicly defend her government’s controversial disaster response — just as her 180-day temporary mandate was set to expire Friday.

    The June 24 quakes have already claimed more than 2,295 lives, according to the latest official government tally. But a civilian-led non-governmental digital database puts the human cost far higher, with more than 38,000 people still registered as missing across the hard-hit region.

    Critics have slammed the interim administration for a slow and disjointed response: Rodríguez waited more than an hour after the first tremor to issue her first public statement, and did not hold a formal news conference on the disaster until last Thursday, eight days after the event. This delay stands in sharp contrast to global disaster response norms, which hold that the so-called “golden 72 hours” after a disaster are the most critical window for finding trapped survivors alive. With each passing day, the odds of pulling people alive from rubble drop exponentially.

    Despite the elapsed time, exhausted rescue crews were still sifting through collapsed structures across La Guaira’s ruined communities Friday, buoyed by a small moment of hope just one day prior: a 43-year-old security guard was pulled alive from the basement of a collapsed shopping mall, after spending nearly a full week trapped under debris. Even as some international search teams have wrapped up their deployments and departed, Rodríguez pushed back against claims that her government was winding down active search operations.

    “We have not closed the search-and-rescue phase. We are still in that stage because, according to our overall assessment, there are still active sites where we believe there may be survivors, even if there is only one,” Rodríguez told reporters at the tense, testy news conference, her first public pushback against widespread criticism of the state-led effort.

    The interim leader dismissed growing public anger over the response as “narratives manufactured in propaganda laboratories,” claiming that rescue teams were dispatched immediately with sufficient equipment to affected areas. Her account directly contradicts widespread complaints from local residents, who say they were forced to dig through rubble on their own for the first 48 hours, without access to official rescue teams or heavy machinery to free trapped family members.

    “Those propaganda operations, driven by partisan political interests, are despicable,” Rodríguez said. “We did not wait one day, two days or three days. We activated immediately.” She added that 11 international field hospitals, staffed by medical workers from 33 countries, have been deployed to quake-hit regions, and that the government has established a dedicated reconstruction fund to accept private and international donations.

    Early damage estimates from the United Nations Development Programme put the total physical destruction from the quakes at $6.7 billion — equal to roughly 6% of Venezuela’s entire annual gross domestic product. This figure does not include the far larger long-term costs of recovery and full reconstruction across La Guaira.

    Rodríguez’s public defense comes amid significant political uncertainty both for her administration and the country. A close ally of former Vice President Nicolás Maduro, Rodríguez stepped into the interim presidency in January after Maduro was removed from office and taken into custody by U.S. authorities, with the backing of the Trump administration. In the months since, she has overseen business-friendly reforms to Venezuela’s critical oil sector under U.S. pressure, but has made no meaningful moves to return the country to full democratic rule.

    Under Venezuela’s constitution, an interim presidential appointment can only last 90 days for a temporary vacancy, with a single 90-day extension approved by the National Assembly. That 180-day window expired Friday, and government officials have offered no public clarification on what will happen next. The ruling majority-controlled National Assembly could call a snap presidential election if lawmakers formally declare the presidency permanently vacant, but no timeline for a democratic vote has been announced. Prior to the earthquake, the Trump administration stated that an election would only be held once Venezuela’s economy has been sufficiently stabilized.

    The political turmoil extends to the country’s fractured opposition. Former President Maduro claimed victory in the 2024 presidential election, which barred leading opposition figure María Corina Machado — a Nobel Peace Prize winner — from running. An independent vote count verified by the opposition confirmed that Machado’s preferred candidate won a majority of the vote. Machado, currently in exile, has pledged to return to Venezuela to support earthquake recovery efforts, but accused Rodríguez’s government of closing the country’s airspace last week to block her planned return. The Trump administration has repeatedly praised Rodríguez’s disaster response, and has largely stepped back from its earlier support for the opposition, abandoning Machado’s claims to the presidency.

  • A push to identify bodies as deaths multiply in Venezuela after twin earthquakes

    A push to identify bodies as deaths multiply in Venezuela after twin earthquakes

    On Venezuela’s battered northern Caribbean coast, the coastal state of La Guaira is still reeling from the devastating aftermath of two powerful back-to-back earthquakes that struck on June 24. With the confirmed death toll already climbing past 2,200 and thousands more still unaccounted for, overwhelmed local authorities and grieving families are locked in a desperate race against time to identify victims before mass burials become unavoidable.

    The scale of destruction has left even experienced medical and forensic workers unprepared for the scope of loss. For Rosa López, a veteran nurse, nothing could have readied her for the harrowing scene she encountered while helping her daughter track down her missing son-in-law, 25-year-old José Antonio Toledo. As she walked through areas hit by the quakes, she was forced to step around rows of victims’ bodies left exposed under the unforgiving tropical sun, many wrapped only in worn sheets or blankets, their identities still unknown.

    Toledo had been working as a security guard in a collapsed building when the tremors hit. Rescuers recovered his body quickly, but overcrowded local hospitals turned the family away, forcing repeated transfers that ultimately left his body held in an open parking lot alongside dozens of other unclaimed victims. A forensic doctor finally helped the family locate him days after the disaster, but a new barrier emerged: the family could not cover the $450 funeral home fee required to claim the body. In a last-minute twist, the mayor’s office offered a free plot at a local cemetery just before midnight, requiring the grieving pair to rush up the cemetery’s hilly terrain within an hour to secure the spot. They buried Toledo that night, saving him from the mass grave that many fear will be the final resting place for hundreds of unclaimed victims. “He was an exemplary person, a boy who liked helping people,” López said of her son-in-law.

    For forensic teams working around the clock to process victims, the challenge is unprecedented. Joel Mirabal, a 45-year-old forensic technician who has worked seven straight days since the quakes struck, estimates that only 60 to 70 percent of recovered bodies can be matched to a family member or neighbor willing and able to identify them. With many bodies severely damaged by collapsed debris, identification relies on small, personal markers: a distinct tattoo, a lifelong scar, a piece of familiar clothing. “They don’t look even 10% like what they were in real life,” Mirabal said of the victims.

    Unidentified bodies are transferred to a makeshift processing center at the La Guaira seaport, where private companies have donated large refrigerated containers to slow decomposition. Even with that support, the steady flow of newly recovered bodies has outstripped storage capacity, and Mirabal says mass graves are now all but inevitable. “The collapse is massive, and the bodies are buried under many layers of debris,” he explained. Forensic teams anticipate it will take up to three months to recover all the remains trapped in rubble, with thousands of local civilians leading teams to sites where bodies have been spotted. Mirabal, a professional dog trainer who previously worked with the government on drug and missing person searches, says the constant exposure to grief has taken a heavy toll. He finds quiet comfort in his 12 pet dogs waiting for him at home after each 12-hour shift. “It’s not easy at all to witness the suffering and tragedy of your fellow human beings,” he said.

    Across the state, families still wait in long lines for a chance to identify their loved ones. Over the weekend, dozens of bodies recovered from flattened buildings were brought to a government health facility in La Guaira, left in a sweltering open parking lot for family members to view. At one point, more than 200 bodies were held in that makeshift staging area. On a recent Thursday, grieving relatives lined up outside the seaport morgue, their cars and funeral home vehicles stretching for blocks down the coastal road.

    Among them was Robert Rodríguez, who sat dejected on a concrete block waiting for his daughter to identify the body of her husband, Rafael Alvarado. Alvarado had been working at the deli counter of a local grocery store when the building collapsed around him. The family recovered his body from the rubble on Wednesday, and it was transferred to the seaport morgue the next day. “I saw his shoes and knew it was him,” Rodríguez said, as tears soaked through his blue face mask. He had warned his daughter to prepare for the worst before she entered the morgue. The family plans to cremate Alvarado and scatter his ashes on Isla de Margarita, his beloved hometown island.

  • Embolo, Ndoye score and Switzerland moves on at the World Cup with a 2-0 win over Algeria

    Embolo, Ndoye score and Switzerland moves on at the World Cup with a 2-0 win over Algeria

    VANCOUVER, British Columbia – A clinical 2-0 victory over Algeria on Thursday night has carried Switzerland through to the World Cup’s knockout stage, with first-half striker Breel Embolo and second-half winger Dan Ndoye securing the decisive goals to set up a round-of-16 clash next Tuesday. The Swiss will face the winner of Friday’s Group H decider between Colombia and Ghana, with their next knockout fixture set to be hosted right here in Vancouver.

    Thursday’s result marks the fourth consecutive World Cup where Switzerland has advanced to the round of 16, a consistent run that hides a long-standing knockout-stage drought for the European side. The Swiss have not claimed a win in a knockout round fixture since the 1938 tournament held in France, though they did win a placement playoff in 1954 to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals. In their past three 32-team World Cup appearances, Switzerland reached the round of 16 each time but failed to progress any further, a monkey they will be eager to throw off next week.

    For Algeria, the defeat brings an early end to their first World Cup return since 2014. The North African side had broken a 10-year tournament drought to qualify for this year’s expanded 48-team field, and eight years ago they advanced to the knockout round before falling to eventual tournament champion Germany.

    The match unfolded with a surprising early momentum shift: Algeria controlled possession and created the majority of dangerous chances in the opening 10 minutes, but were caught out on a rapid Swiss counterattack. 20-year-old wing back Johan Manzambi broke free down the right flank, delivering a pinpoint low cross into the six-yard box that left Embolo with a simple tap-in to open the scoring. The finish marked Embolo’s 26th international goal, and the striker celebrated the opening tally with a sliding knee celebration in front of the traveling Swiss fan section.

    Less than 60 seconds into the second half, Switzerland doubled their advantage to put the game out of reach. Ndoye collected a loose clearance just outside the 18-yard box and hit a blistering full-volley that diving Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane could not reach, even with a full extension. The shot rocketed into the top corner, securing what would prove to be the final margin of victory.

    Switzerland came close to adding a third goal in the 81st minute, when Fabian Rieder found himself unmarked in front of an open goal for another tap-in. The midfielder’s effort skidded just wide of the far post, keeping the final scoreline 2-0.

    In a side note, FIFA President Gianni Infantino was in attendance for the fixture, his second match of the day after earlier watching Spain face off against Austria in Inglewood, California.

    Algeria secured their knockout stage spot earlier in the group stage as one of the tournament’s third-place qualifiers, coming out of a dramatic 3-3 draw with Austria last Saturday in Kansas City. The result sent both Algeria and Austria through to the knockout round, while eliminating Iran from contention. 35-year-old Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez proved pivotal in that draw, notching two goals to keep his side’s tournament hopes alive.

    For Switzerland, Thursday’s win follows a dramatic 2-1 victory over co-host Canada just one day earlier. Goals from Rubén Vargas and Manzambi spoiled Canada’s bid to become the first co-host to reach the knockout round on home soil, and instead earned the Swiss a return trip to Vancouver for their round-of-16 fixture. The side also benefited from a rare seven-day break after their final group stage match, which allowed the squad to return to their pre-tournament training base in San Diego to recover and prepare for knockout play.

    Manzambi has emerged as the breakout star of Switzerland’s tournament so far, with Thursday’s assist marking his fourth goal contribution of the competition – two goals and two assists overall. The young winger began the tournament coming off the bench as an impact substitute, but has earned a starting spot in the side’s last two consecutive matches after a string of standout performances.

    The fixture also carried a subplot of a homecoming for Algeria head coach Vladimir Petkovic, who managed the Swiss national team from 2014 to 2021. During his tenure, Petkovic led Switzerland to the knockout stage of the 2018 World Cup and guided the side to a historic quarterfinal run at the 2020 European Championships.

  • World Cup what to know: Messi looks to add to career goals lead when Argentina faces Cape Verde

    World Cup what to know: Messi looks to add to career goals lead when Argentina faces Cape Verde

    As the FIFA World Cup knockout stage kicks into high gear, three intriguing round of 32 matches are set to unfold across the United States on Friday, headlined by defending champion Argentina and superstar Lionel Messi squaring off against surprise qualifier Cape Verde at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. A win for the South American giants will book their spot in the tournament’s round of 16, continuing Messi’s quest for a second World Cup title.

    At 36, Messi continues to rewrite World Cup history, putting in a tournament performance for the ages. He currently sits level atop this tournament’s goal-scoring table with six strikes, tied with France’s Kylian Mbappé. With 19 career World Cup goals, Messi holds the all-time leading scorer mark, though Mbappé sits just one goal behind after his brace in France’s 3-0 group-stage rout of Sweden. Crucially, Messi has played one fewer match than Mbappé at this year’s tournament, giving him a clear path to extend his lead and strengthen his bid for the Golden Boot when Argentina faces a Cape Verde side lacking the big-name star power of the tournament’s elite.

    The matchup has widely been framed as soccer’s modern David vs. Goliath, but Cape Verde has already proven that underestimating the African side leads to trouble. The underdogs held Spain to a 0-0 draw in group play, a result that pushed them into the knockout round and sent two-time champion Uruguay packing earlier than expected. Even as massive underdogs, Cape Verde’s camp says they have no intention of simply showing up to make up the numbers.

    Calling this the most significant match in the nation’s soccer history, Cape Verde head coach Bubista emphasized that his side’s knockout berth was no fluke. “We did not reach this stage by chance. It was on our own merits and we want to show the world our qualities, our values, and that there is a lot of quality in Cape Verdean football,” he told reporters Thursday. Backup defender Stopira echoed that confidence, saying “I believe we can do a great thing here… this match is no exception.” A Cape Verde upset would send shockwaves across the global soccer community, but the side has already earned the respect of Argentina’s coaching staff.

    Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said his side has no plans to overlook their opponents. “We are not surprised, to be honest. They are a good team. And they are not here by chance. We must respect them. And that’s what we will do,” Scaloni said.

    Friday’s action kicks off at 2 p.m. EDT at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where Australia will face Egypt in the day’s first knockout tie. Egypt is holding out hope that star forward Mohamed Salah, who picked up a hamstring injury in the team’s 1-1 group-stage draw with Iran that secured their knockout spot, will be available. Salah came off in the 57th minute of that match and only participated in limited training sessions in the lead-up to the game, with head coach Hossam Hassan saying he is still unsure whether Salah will feature in the starting lineup.

    This is only Egypt’s fourth World Cup appearance, and just their first trip to the knockout round. One more goal from Salah will tie the Liverpool icon’s career national team tally at 69, equaling the Egyptian all-time record held by his current national team coach. For Australia, the Socceroos are chasing their first ever knockout round win, having fallen in their two previous appearances at this stage — including a 2-1 loss to Messi and Argentina in the 2022 Qatar World Cup round of 16. Australia advanced out of their group after a 2-0 win over Turkey, a 2-0 loss to the United States, and a conservative 0-0 draw with Paraguay that saw both sides protect their position to advance.

    The nightcap will be held at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, where Colombia faces Ghana with a round of 16 spot on the line. Colombia enter the match as heavy favorites after a dominant group-stage run, where they picked up wins over Uzbekistan and Congo, and held Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal to a hard-fought 0-0 draw. Across three matches, Los Cafeteros only conceded one goal, and head coach Nestor Lorenzo’s side has carried quiet confidence into their final training sessions this week.

    Even Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente named Colombia as a legitimate contender to win the entire tournament. Lorenzo downplayed the favorite label, saying “I know that is a complement from Coach De La Fuente, and I thank him for saying so, but I prefer not to be considered a favorite. Every single time we’ve had to take over the reins, our team has done so. That’s shown growth on behalf of Colombia.” A win Friday will see Colombia advance to face the winner of Saturday’s Switzerland-Algeria matchup on July 7.

    For Ghana, the moment is already something of a surprise. The Black Stars failed to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in more than 20 years, but a win over Panama and a draw with England were enough to push them into the knockout round. Now they are aiming to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2010, adding another chapter to this tournament’s run of upsets. “It’s very important,” Ghana center back Derrick Luckassen said. “We are through and that’s the most important, and we hope we can come even further. That is what we want. We will give our best to come through.”

    One of the biggest storylines entering Friday’s action remains Messi’s historic goal chase. While the Inter Miami star already holds the all-time career World Cup goal record, he remains far off the mark for the most goals scored in a single edition of the tournament: that 13-goal record set by France’s Just Fontaine all the way back at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Fontaine is one of only three men to hit double-digit goals in a single World Cup, alongside Hungary’s Sándor Kocsis (11 goals in 1954) and West Germany’s Gerd Müller (10 goals in 1970), and Fontaine’s record came in his only ever World Cup appearance — while Messi is playing in his sixth.

    The tournament’s round of 16 is set to begin Saturday, with eight more knockout ties scheduled to decide the quarterfinal field over the coming days. This story was compiled with reporting from AP Sports Writers Tim Reynolds, David Skretta and Schuyler Dixon.

  • Lionel Messi and Argentina await Cape Verde in the round of 32 at the World Cup

    Lionel Messi and Argentina await Cape Verde in the round of 32 at the World Cup

    MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — When the World Cup’s round of 32 kicks off at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday night, global soccer will witness one of the most dramatic underdog storylines in modern tournament history. On one side stands Argentina, the three-time World Cup title holder, led by widely regarded greatest-of-all-time Lionel Messi, boasting a century of decorated soccer history and a roster stacked with elite international talent. On the other steps Cape Verde, an undersized African island nation making an unprecedented run that no pundits predicted.

    For the Cape Verde side, there is zero pressure to deliver a result — no fanbase or pundit expects the tiny underdog to topple the defending champions. That freedom, however, has not dulled the squad’s belief that they can pull off one of the most stunning upsets the sport has ever seen. “I believe we can do a great thing here,” Cape Verde backup defender Stopira, full name Ianique dos Santos Tavares, told reporters Thursday through a translator. “And this is no exception. This match is no exception.”

    A Cape Verde victory would echo the magnitude of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice”, where a young amateur U.S. men’s hockey team upset the unbeatable Soviet Union at the Lake Placid Olympics en route to gold. In soccer terms, this underdog triumph would be remembered forever as the “Miracle on Grass”.

    When the tournament bracket was first finalized, Argentina’s squad fully expected to face either Spain or Uruguay, the two other decorated former champions in Group H, in this round of 32 matchup. As the Group J winner, Argentina was set to take on the Group H runner-up, and almost no one penciled Cape Verde into that spot. But the chaotic group stage defied all expectations: two-time champion Uruguay crashed out early, 2010 winner Spain advanced but finished second, and Cape Verde held on to claim the unlikely runner-up spot, setting up a showdown with Messi and his world-beating side.

    This underdog run did not come out of nowhere. Cape Verde turned heads early in group play by holding Spain to a surprising scoreless draw, cementing their defensive reputation ahead of the knockout stage. Their 40-year-old starting goalkeeper even captured global public attention when a story spread of community support that allowed his mother to travel to the U.S. to watch his group stage performances. Now, the tiny nation stands in the biggest match in its soccer history.

    “The most important match in our history,” Cape Verde head coach Bubista said of Friday’s clash. “So, we are being responsible and also trying to enjoy the match. We did not reach this stage by chance. It was on our own merits and we want to show the world our qualities, our values and that there’s a lot of quality in Cape Verdean football.”

    Cape Verde enters the knockout round with an unusual resume: it is the only team to advance to the round of 32 this tournament without registering a single win, having earned three consecutive draws across group play. By contrast, Argentina dominated its group, winning all three matches with Messi turning in standout performances in every fixture. Now, both teams enter a do-or-die knockout: win, and advance; lose, and go home.

    Even Argentina’s coaching staff and players are quick to emphasize that Cape Verde’s spot in the round of 32 is no fluke. “We are not surprised, to be honest,” Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni told reporters. “They are a good team. And they are not here by chance. We must respect them. And that’s what we will do.”

    Argentina midfielder Rodrigo de Paul echoed that respect, noting that the bracket always favored a more established nation to reach this matchup. “The truth is that when the draw was decided, the group that we would have to face … there were two world champions there,” he said.

    Cape Verde has already laid out its game plan for the biggest match in the nation’s history. The side will lean into its tested defensive structure, which only allowed two goals across three group matches and kept Spain off the scoresheet entirely. The underdogs plan to push aggressively on set pieces, fight for as much possession control as possible, and execute a unified game plan that targets the entire Argentine side, not just Messi. While no global side has cracked the code of stopping the Argentine star, Bubista says his squad is prepared for the full challenge Argentina presents.

    “We have our own strategy, not only against Messi, but the whole team,” Bubista said. “We know they are the current world champions, one of the best teams in the tournament. And we will play against the whole team, not just Messi.”

  • Rescue teams in Venezuela cling to hope as US rebuffs criticisms of government earthquake response

    Rescue teams in Venezuela cling to hope as US rebuffs criticisms of government earthquake response

    CATIA LA MAR, Venezuela – One week after a pair of devastating earthquakes ripped through Venezuela’s northern coastal region, the acrid stench of smoldering wreckage and decomposing human remains hangs heavy over the flattened neighborhoods of La Guaira state, where international rescue teams continue to cling to faint hopes of pulling more survivors from tons of concrete and rubble.

    On Thursday morning, that faint hope became a rare moment of joy cutting through the pervasive despair that has shrouded the hard-hit port city of Catia La Mar. After 100 consecutive hours of painstaking excavation by search-and-rescue teams from across the Americas, crews pulled 43-year-old Hernán Alberto Gil Flores alive from the collapsed ruins of a local shopping mall, where he had been trapped for nearly eight full days. Rescuers say a narrow, stable air pocket kept Gil Flores alive, and he was able to stay hydrated and nourished using supplies that teams lowered through gaps in the rubble before reaching him. As he was carried out on a stretcher and loaded into an awaiting ambulance, crowds of onlookers who had gathered at the site burst into cheers, marking one of the few unqualified victories for rescue teams amid a relentless, devastating recovery effort.

    The miracle rescue comes against a backdrop of staggering loss that has left the country reeling. As of Wednesday, Venezuelan government figures put the confirmed death toll at 2,295, with more than 11,000 people injured by the quakes. Thousands more remain unaccounted for, as desperate family members sift through wreckage searching for any sign of missing loved ones. Tens of thousands of displaced residents are now living in overcrowded emergency shelters or sleeping in the open air along the coast, a reality that has medical professionals sounding the alarm over a looming secondary public health crisis. With Venezuela’s already teetering national healthcare system stretched beyond its breaking point, untreated injuries and the spread of infectious disease threaten to push the death toll even higher in the coming weeks.

    Beyond the human catastrophe, the disaster has amplified already fierce political pressure on interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, whose government is facing widespread backlash from Venezuelans over what critics call an inadequate, under-resourced official response to the quakes. On the ground, civilian volunteer teams and international rescue efforts have outpaced official government action, drawing sharp condemnation from citizens grappling with the aftermath.

    The criticism comes at a pivotal political moment for Rodríguez: her 180-day mandate as acting president was set to expire at the end of Thursday, leaving the country’s interim leadership status unclear amid a lack of transparency from government officials. Rodríguez, who previously served as vice president to Nicolás Maduro before Maduro was ousted by U.S.-backed opposition in January, has held the interim presidency with formal backing from the Trump administration. Under Venezuela’s constitution, an interim vice presidential appointment can only extend 90 days before requiring an additional 90-day extension from the National Assembly, which is controlled by Rodríguez’s party. If the seat is declared permanently vacant, the assembly has the authority to call a snap national election.

    Despite growing domestic discontent over the disaster response, the Trump administration reaffirmed its full support for Rodríguez’s government on Wednesday. U.S. officials confirmed that roughly 900 American military personnel are currently deployed in Venezuela to support rescue and humanitarian relief operations. John M. Barrett, U.S. chargé d’affaires to Venezuela, pushed back against claims that Rodríguez’s administration had politicized disaster response efforts during a press call with reporters. “The U.S. response does require a high level of coordination with local authorities to be successful,” Barrett said. “And what I can say with confidence is that the local authorities have fully complied with our requests and have accelerated this massive humanitarian response.”

    Gen. Francis Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command, added that decades of systemic underinvestment in Venezuelan public infrastructure and social services had created pre-existing conditions that made responding to a disaster of this scale far more difficult for any sitting government. “It is a big problem for any leader to deal with a challenge of this magnitude,” Donovan noted.

    Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalist Ben Finley contributed reporting from Washington D.C.

  • Watch: Man rescued from rubble eight days after Venezuela earthquake

    Watch: Man rescued from rubble eight days after Venezuela earthquake

    In a stunning tale of survival that has captured global attention, a 43-year-old Venezuelan security guard has been pulled alive from the remains of a collapsed building eight full days after twin earthquakes rocked the South American nation.

    Rescue crews pulled Hernan Gil from the wreckage on Thursday, marking an extraordinary outcome for a search effort that many feared would only recover remains after more than a week trapped beneath fallen concrete and mangled infrastructure. The twin seismic events that struck Venezuela triggered the collapse of the multi-story structure where Gil was working, leaving him pinned and cut off from contact with the outside world.

    The dramatic rescue, captured on video by emergency responders on the scene, has already spread widely across social media, with many viewers hailing it as a rare moment of hope in the aftermath of a disaster that brought widespread destruction and loss of life across affected regions of the country. Rescue teams have not yet released details on how Gil survived eight days without food, water, or access to open air, but medical teams have already taken him to a local hospital to evaluate his condition.