In Nicaragua, would-be migrants learn to swim to brave deadly Rio Grande

ESTELI, Nicaragua (Reuters) - Beaten down by the lack of work in Nicaragua, Martha Martinez plans to migrate to the United States. But before she sets off, she's learning to swim, in anticipation of the dangerous crossing of the Rio Grande River at the U.S. border.

Martinez is one of dozens of would-be Nicaraguan migrants who have signed up for free swimming instruction before they leave, hoping the lessons will protect them during the last leg of the journey, when they traverse the river that separates the United States from Mexico.