AS YOUNG AS 12: Young Venezuelan ball players ‘wanted to stay’ in U.S.

Two days after returning to Maracaibo, Salcedo woke up in the middle of the night after a power outage knocked out his fan, leaving him tossing and turning in the Caribbean heat.

He was so tired the next day that his mother, 44-year-old single homemaker Diana Nunez, had to browbeat him into doing his workout routine, which includes a makeshift weightlifting session with two sand-filled bottles strung to a pole.

Nunez said she used to serve her son beef or chicken every day, but lately she can only buy meat three times a week.

Unlike the well-manicured U.S. ballparks, the field where Cacique Mara practices has no grass. A pump that used to irrigate it was stolen two years ago and lights, which once allowed teams to practice at night, have been out for years.

Remember, if you’re opposed to socialism, it’s because you don’t care about the children.