The Best Photo of the Year According to World Press Photo 0 26

The photo of the year according to the non-profit organization World Press Photo has been recognized as "Separated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents" by American photographer Carol Guzy. This decision was announced by the organizing committee of the namesake photo contest on Thursday, April 23. The work is part of the series "ICE Arrests in New York Court" for the daily newspaper Miami Herald.

Guzy captured the moment when law enforcement representatives took Luis, a migrant from Ecuador, away from his family after a court hearing on illegal immigration. This episode is "not an isolated case, but a policy that indiscriminately applies to people who have sincerely appeared for court hearings," emphasized the contest's organizing committee. In a democratic society, the presence of cameras in court corridors is an "important witness to the policy that has turned court buildings into places where lives are shattered," noted World Press Photo. In 2025, protests against the tightening of immigration policy by President Donald Trump's administration and the course towards mass deportations of migrants took place in several cities across the U.S.

"The award highlights the immense importance of this story worldwide. We have witnessed the suffering of countless families, but also their dignity and resilience that allow them to overcome adversity. This award undoubtedly belongs to them, not to me," Guzy stated, commenting on the jury's choice.

Disaster in the Gaza Strip

Saber Nuraldin talks about the problems faced by residents of the Gaza Strip.

A single photograph by Saber Nuraldin from Gaza City in the Palestinian National Authority received finalist status. The photo titled "Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip" was taken at the end of July 2025, after Israel announced a "tactical pause" in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the region through checkpoints.

A Tragic Chapter in Guatemala's History

The second finalist was another single photograph - "Trials of the Achi Women." The work by New York-based Victor Blue shows representatives of this Guatemalan ethnic group after a trial that found their tormentors, three former members of a rural militia from the civil war era, guilty of crimes against humanity.

Victor Blue explores the echoes of the civil war in Guatemala.

As a result of the civil war in the Latin American country from the 1960s to the 1990s, around 200,000 people died or went missing. A group of Achi women from the town of Rabinal faced violence and humiliation from rural armed groups created to combat leftist guerrillas for four decades.

The History of World Press Photo

The World Press Photo contest has been held since 1955. German photographers won the award in 1956, 1969, and 1972. In 2023, the photo of the year was awarded to Ukrainian photographer Yevgeny Maloletka, who captured the evacuation from a bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol.

The author of the photo of the year will receive 10,000 euros, as well as a set of cameras and lenses. Two finalists will be awarded a set of photographic equipment.