GÜIRIA, Venezuela — The Tragic Stories of Victims in U.S. Drug Smuggling Boat Attacks
Robert Sánchez, a fisherman in Güiria, Venezuela
One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet. And a fourth was a down-on-his-luck bus driver.
The men had little in common beyond their Venezuelan seaside hometowns and the fact all four were among the more than 60 people killed since early September when the U.S. military began attacking boats that the Trump administration alleges were smuggling drugs.
In dozens of interviews in villages on Venezuela’s breathtaking northeastern coast, from which some of the boats departed, residents and relatives said the dead men had indeed been running drugs but were not narco-terrorists or leaders of a cartel or gang.
Most of the nine men were crewing such craft for the first or second time, making at least $500 per trip. They were laborers, a fisherman, a motorcycle taxi driver. Two were low-level career criminals. One was a well-known local crime boss who contracted out his smuggling services to traffickers.
The men lived on the Paria Peninsula, in mostly unpainted cinderblock homes that can go weeks without water service. They awoke to panoramic views of a national park’s tropical forests, the Gulf of Paria’s shallows and the Caribbean’s sparkling waters.
The residents and relatives interviewed by the AP requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals from drug smugglers, the Venezuelan government, or the Trump administration. They said they were incensed that the men were killed without due process.
Venezuelan officials have blasted the U.S. government over the strikes, calling them “extrajudicial executions.” The Trump administration has justified the strikes by declaring drug cartels to be “unlawful combatants” and said the U.S. is now in an “armed conflict” with them.
Relatives and acquaintances said they have confirmed the deaths through word-of-mouth and social media posts. They have also made what they described as reasonable deductions based on the lack of communication from the men.
The Fisherman
Robert Sánchez, a native of Güiria, dropped out of school as a teenager to become a fisherman like his father. Considered one of the best pilots on the peninsula, he spent his days fishing for snapper, kingfish, and dogfish.
Sánchez’s dream of owning his own boat remained unfulfilled as he struggled to support his family on a meager income of $100 a month.
One of the First to Die
Luis “Che” Martínez, a local crime boss, was killed in the first known U.S. strike. Despite his criminal activities, residents appreciated his contributions to the community’s annual festival and local economy.
The Former Cadet and Bus Driver
Dushak Milovcic, drawn to crime for the adrenaline rush and money, dropped out of the National Guard Academy to work for drug smugglers. Juan Carlos “El Guaramero” Fuentes, a former bus driver facing financial difficulties, turned to smuggling to make ends meet.
