Venezuela’s ‘Pearl of the Caribbean’ loses its luster

Venezuela (AFP) -- One of the five stars that used to adorn the facade of the Margarita hotel on the Venezuelan paradise island of the same name has fallen off. Not that there are any guests to notice. The hotel is abandoned, its peeling facade a symbol of the decline of an island once dubbed the "Pearl of the Caribbean" that has been robbed of its shine by a severe economic crisis. A short drive away by car, a herd of cows grazes in front of another vacant former five-star hostelry, Lagunamar. It l...