The docks in Güiria are quiet, and the silence is costing the city everything.
For years, this coastal port of 40,000 people has relied on a shadow economy fueled by smuggling. The daily flotilla of small boats moved everything from illicit drugs to essential food and consumer goods between Venezuela and nearby islands. But following a blistering campaign of U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels, that traffic has come to a sudden, absolute halt.
The result, according to residents and local merchants speaking to Reuters, is immediate economic collapse paired with a suffocating rise in government surveillance.
“No boats of any kind are leaving,” one local merchant said. “Not migrants, not people buying goods there to sell here, and certainly not those taking Venezuelan products to sell there… Everything is practically dead.”
READ: Zelenskyy’s ‘Gatekeeper’ Out: Chief Of Staff Resigns As Anti-Graft Agents Raid Compound
Shop owners report that cash flow in the city has evaporated. Without the illicit trade that underpinned the local economy, the only money circulating comes from sporadic government bonus payments.
Shadows on the Streets
As the economy crumbles, fear has taken root. Families of several local men believed to have been killed in the U.S. strikes say they were visited shortly afterward by Venezuelan intelligence agents.
Relatives, speaking on condition of anonymity, allege that officers from the socialist regime’s security services searched their homes and issued stark warnings against speaking publicly. Despite the intimidation, the families say they have received no official information regarding the fate of their loved ones and have recovered no bodies.
The crackdown appears to be widespread. Since mid-September, residents have noted a heavy influx of personnel from the Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) and the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN).
The DGCIM, currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court for alleged systematic abuses including torture, has reportedly set up a command center in a state-owned hotel in a nearby resort town.
READ: Florida Rep. Greg Steube’s New Bill Threatens Jail Time and Heavy Fines For Crooked Tax Preparers
“The people in town know there are individuals who are not part of the community,” a former resident told Reuters. “People walking around like civilians, but they belong to government intelligence. There’s so much secrecy – no one talks about it because they don’t know if someone is listening.”
Naval Buildup and “Terrorist” Designations
The grim situation in Güiria is the fallout of a massive escalation in U.S. pressure on the Maduro regime. The U.S. has deployed roughly 10 percent of its total naval assets to the region, conducting 21 strikes on alleged narco-trafficking ships since early September. These operations have reportedly resulted in over 80 deaths.
The pressure is also political. In mid-November, the U.S. designated the “Cartel de los Soles”—which Washington alleges is led by dictator Nicolás Maduro—as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. President Donald Trump further ramped up tensions on Thursday, suggesting to service members that U.S. forces might soon combat alleged smugglers inside Venezuela by land, rather than just at sea.
With covert CIA operations reportedly authorized since October and U.S. warships patrolling the horizon, the residents of Güiria find themselves trapped between a collapsing economy and a regime desperate to maintain control.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
