Wilder Fernández has caught four good-sized fish in the murky waters of a small bay north of Lake Maracaibo. The contents of his net will serve as dinner for his small team before they set out to go fishing again in the evening. But this daily task is a job he has recently become scared of doing.
After 13 years as a fisherman, Mr Fernández confesses that he now fears his job could turn lethal. He is afraid he could die in these waters not at the hands of a night-time attacker - a threat fishermen like him encountered in the past - but rather, killed in a strike launched by a foreign power.
It's crazy, man, he says of the deployment of US warships, fighter jets, a submarine and thousands of US troops in waters north of Venezuela's coast. The US force patrolling in the Caribbean is part of a military operation targeting suspected narco-terrorists, which according to the White House have links to the Venezuelan government led by Nicolás Maduro.
Since last month, the US has conducted at least six strikes on suspected drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean, with the latest being carried out on Thursday. At least 27 people have been killed, but Thursday's strike appeared to be the first to have survivors aboard the boat. The US has accused those killed of smuggling drugs but has so far not presented any evidence. Experts have suggested the strikes could be illegal under international law.
Tensions between the US and Venezuela escalated further on Wednesday when US President Donald Trump said that he was considering strikes on Venezuelan soil. He also confirmed that he had authorised the CIA to carry out covert operations inside Venezuela.
Mr Fernández is across the latest news. Even though the strikes are said by the US to have happened thousands of kilometres from where he fishes, his wife has been trying to convince him to leave Lake Maracaibo. Every day she begs him to leave his fishing job. She tells me to look for another job, but there's nowhere to go, he explains. He does not rule out that his boat could be hit by mistake.
According to Jennifer Nava, a spokeswoman for the Council of Fishermen in El Bajo, the added risks fishermen are facing could drive some of them into the arms of drug and arms smugglers looking to recruit people to transport their illicit shipments. Some of these guys are approached by traffickers, she explains, adding that a downturn in the fishing industry could leave fishermen more vulnerable to those approaches.
The fear of being hit by a US strike is the latest of a long list of risks that fishermen face, including pirates, oil spills, and a decline in earnings in recent years. Amidst all these challenges, José Luzardo, a veteran fisher, expresses a defiant stance against US military presence, ready to defend their homeland. Despite the fear, the fishing community stands united in their call for peace and safety in their waters.
After 13 years as a fisherman, Mr Fernández confesses that he now fears his job could turn lethal. He is afraid he could die in these waters not at the hands of a night-time attacker - a threat fishermen like him encountered in the past - but rather, killed in a strike launched by a foreign power.
It's crazy, man, he says of the deployment of US warships, fighter jets, a submarine and thousands of US troops in waters north of Venezuela's coast. The US force patrolling in the Caribbean is part of a military operation targeting suspected narco-terrorists, which according to the White House have links to the Venezuelan government led by Nicolás Maduro.
Since last month, the US has conducted at least six strikes on suspected drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean, with the latest being carried out on Thursday. At least 27 people have been killed, but Thursday's strike appeared to be the first to have survivors aboard the boat. The US has accused those killed of smuggling drugs but has so far not presented any evidence. Experts have suggested the strikes could be illegal under international law.
Tensions between the US and Venezuela escalated further on Wednesday when US President Donald Trump said that he was considering strikes on Venezuelan soil. He also confirmed that he had authorised the CIA to carry out covert operations inside Venezuela.
Mr Fernández is across the latest news. Even though the strikes are said by the US to have happened thousands of kilometres from where he fishes, his wife has been trying to convince him to leave Lake Maracaibo. Every day she begs him to leave his fishing job. She tells me to look for another job, but there's nowhere to go, he explains. He does not rule out that his boat could be hit by mistake.
According to Jennifer Nava, a spokeswoman for the Council of Fishermen in El Bajo, the added risks fishermen are facing could drive some of them into the arms of drug and arms smugglers looking to recruit people to transport their illicit shipments. Some of these guys are approached by traffickers, she explains, adding that a downturn in the fishing industry could leave fishermen more vulnerable to those approaches.
The fear of being hit by a US strike is the latest of a long list of risks that fishermen face, including pirates, oil spills, and a decline in earnings in recent years. Amidst all these challenges, José Luzardo, a veteran fisher, expresses a defiant stance against US military presence, ready to defend their homeland. Despite the fear, the fishing community stands united in their call for peace and safety in their waters.
