CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. — Each day, as he chased his soccer dreams, playing a sport that has also blessed his father and two brothers, Junior Moreno struggled to detach himself from the terrible reality infecting his homeland.
Moreno is Venezuelan, and like almost everyone in the South American country of some 31 million, he has felt and seen the effects of a historic economic crisis.
Endless lines at gas stations. Empty grocery stores. A rise in violent crime. Families begging on the streets. Malnourished children. Hospitals in need of medicine. Young girls selling their bodies.