Venezuela's luxury resort island devastated by economic crisis

In this Sept. 12, 2016 photo, murky water fills a pool at Hotel Balcones de Tacarigua on Margarita Island, Venezuela. The few guests who still book rooms here must pack in their own soap, towels and even toilet paper, while food shortages have forced the hotel owner to suspend meal service. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In this Sept. 13, 2016 photo, sardines sit on a bucket, for sale by a street vendor in La Guardia on Margarita Island, Venezuela. International tourists have begun to shun Venezuela in recent years as it has become one of the most violent countries in the world, and a complex currency system makes it difficult to change money. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In this Sept. 13, 2016 photo, a mural of the Virgen of del Valle, the patron Saint of Margarita, decorates a wall in Porlamar on Margarita Island, Venezuela. This resort town was once mobbed with international tourists who loved the sparkling blue water, fine white sand and flawless sunny days. Now, swimming pools are empty, toilets don't flush and many hotels can't afford to offer meal service. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In this Sept. 13, 2016 photo, people gather on a pier to buy sardines from fishermen in the Los Cocos area of Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela. Some are buying for their own consumption, and others to resell. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In this Sept. 13, 2016 photo, Playa el Agua beach lays almost empty of tourists on Margarita Island, Venezuela. While many Venezuelans continue to spend weekends on the beach, few can afford a plane ticket and hotel, which has left the business community here reeling, with no help in sight. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Nicolas Millan, who manages a beach restaurant, shows cash as he complains that he's made little money that day: 1,000 bolivars (about 1 U.S. dollar) on Pampatar beach on Margarita Island, Venezuela, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. A decade ago, 40 percent of Margarita Island tourists came from abroad, according to Chamber of Tourism President Igor Viloria. Now just 4 percent of tourists are international. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In this Sept. 12, 2016 photo, a boy sits in a boat full of sardines caught by fishermen who returned to the shore to sell them in Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela. Crisis-wracked Venezuela is giving the island community a last-minute cleanup as the government prepares to host leaders from the developing world for a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In this Sept. 12, 2016 photo, a girl sits in a supermarket cart as she waits for her dad at the market he works at in Porlamar, Venezuela. The child's father Alexander Velasquez spent the afternoon asking for food donations from vendors at Conejero market where he works as a porter. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In this Sept. 13, 2016 photo, beach chairs sit stacked on empty Playa El Agua beach on Margarita Island, Venezuela. Flights into the island are down 50 percent. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)