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 aware of 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. Of course it worries me, you never know. I think about it every day, man, the father of three says.
One day after BBC Mundo spoke to Mr Fernández, Trump announced that six narco-terrorists had been killed in a US strike in international waters off the Venezuelan coast. Trump added that intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks.
The Trump administration accuses Maduro of leading the Cartel of the Suns drug trafficking gang and is offering a $50m reward for information leading to his capture. Maduro, whose legitimacy as Venezuela's president is internationally contested after disputed elections last year, has denied the cartel accusations. He has dismissed them as an attempt by the White House to oust him from office.
In a second televised address railing against the US in as many days, Venezuela's president said on Thursday: We will never be an American colony. Maduro also alleged the CIA had long been active in Venezuela. Meanwhile, Venezuela's Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino has warned Venezuelans to prepare for the worst. Speaking after the incursion on 2 October of five F-35 fighter jets in Venezuelan airspace, Gen Padrino said that his nation was facing a serious threat, which he warned could involve aerial bombings, naval blockades, undercover commandos landing on Venezuelan beaches or in the Venezuelan jungle, swarms of drones, sabotage, and targeted killings of leaders.
Venezuela also denounced the mounting threats from the US at the United Nations Security Council last week. In response, the US representative at the UN meeting, John Kelley, stressed that his country will not waver in our action to protect our nation from narcoterrorists.
Jennifer Nava, spokeswoman for the Council of Fishermen in El Bajo, in Venezuela's Zulia state, laments the undermined security for fishermen. Ms Nava argues that the added risks could drive some into the arms of drug and arms smugglers looking to recruit fishermen for their illegal activities.
Waldir Fernández, another fisherman, described the situation as worrying, saying, The guys didn't want to go out to sea to fish after news of the US strikes broke. The Trump administration has us cornered ... If we have to lay down our lives to defend the government, then we'll do it, he says.
Despite the fear, a defiant sentiment brews among some fishermen like José Luzardo, who rally against US intrusion, vowing to defend their homeland at all costs. If they want to kill us, then so be it, but we're not afraid, he asserts.
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 aware of 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. Of course it worries me, you never know. I think about it every day, man, the father of three says.
One day after BBC Mundo spoke to Mr Fernández, Trump announced that six narco-terrorists had been killed in a US strike in international waters off the Venezuelan coast. Trump added that intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks.
The Trump administration accuses Maduro of leading the Cartel of the Suns drug trafficking gang and is offering a $50m reward for information leading to his capture. Maduro, whose legitimacy as Venezuela's president is internationally contested after disputed elections last year, has denied the cartel accusations. He has dismissed them as an attempt by the White House to oust him from office.
In a second televised address railing against the US in as many days, Venezuela's president said on Thursday: We will never be an American colony. Maduro also alleged the CIA had long been active in Venezuela. Meanwhile, Venezuela's Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino has warned Venezuelans to prepare for the worst. Speaking after the incursion on 2 October of five F-35 fighter jets in Venezuelan airspace, Gen Padrino said that his nation was facing a serious threat, which he warned could involve aerial bombings, naval blockades, undercover commandos landing on Venezuelan beaches or in the Venezuelan jungle, swarms of drones, sabotage, and targeted killings of leaders.
Venezuela also denounced the mounting threats from the US at the United Nations Security Council last week. In response, the US representative at the UN meeting, John Kelley, stressed that his country will not waver in our action to protect our nation from narcoterrorists.
Jennifer Nava, spokeswoman for the Council of Fishermen in El Bajo, in Venezuela's Zulia state, laments the undermined security for fishermen. Ms Nava argues that the added risks could drive some into the arms of drug and arms smugglers looking to recruit fishermen for their illegal activities.
Waldir Fernández, another fisherman, described the situation as worrying, saying, The guys didn't want to go out to sea to fish after news of the US strikes broke. The Trump administration has us cornered ... If we have to lay down our lives to defend the government, then we'll do it, he says.
Despite the fear, a defiant sentiment brews among some fishermen like José Luzardo, who rally against US intrusion, vowing to defend their homeland at all costs. If they want to kill us, then so be it, but we're not afraid, he asserts.
