Hungry Venezuelans flee in boats to escape economic collapse

The dark outlines of land had just come into view when the smuggler forced everyone into the sea.Roymar Bello screamed. She was one of 17 passengers who had climbed onto the overloaded fishing boat with aging motors in July, hoping to escape Venezuela's economic disaster for a new life on the Caribbean island of Curacao. Afraid of the authorities, the smuggler refused to land. He ordered Bello and the others into the water, pointing toward the distant shore. In the panic, she was tossed overboard, tumbling into the predawn blackness. But Bello could not swim. More…