Pirates are terrorizing the coastal state of Sucre, once home to the world's fourth-largest tuna fleet and a thriving fishing industry.

That trade has collapsed, along with virtually every industry across Venezuela. Gangs of out-of-work fishermen prey upon those who still venture out into the open sea, stealing their catch and motors, tying them up, throwing them overboard, and sometimes shooting them. The robberies have taken place daily this year, and dozens of fishermen have died.

"People can't make a living fishing anymore, so they're using their boats for the options that remain: smuggling gas, running drugs and piracy," said Jose Antonio Garcia, leader of the state's largest union.

Venezuela's once booming oil economy is on its knees under socialist President Nicolas Maduro. In the low-lying western ranching region, cattle are dying for lack of feed. The mineral-rich states to the east no longer produce metal. In the agricultural heartlands, farmers wait in food lines to buy the crops they once grew before fertilizer ran out. Across the petroleum belt, rigs and refineries are silent, and this month has seen the rise of gas lines in a country with the world's largest oil reserves.

"I've never seen this kind of total implosion without there being a war to cause it," said Venezuelan economist Alejandro Grisanti, formerly with Barclays Capital.