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 the White House claims are connected to the Venezuelan government led by Nicolás Maduro.
Since September 2, the US has carried out a number of strikes against what it labeled narco-boats, resulting in at least 27 casualties.
The US charges those slain with drug smuggling but has yet to provide evidence of these claims; concerns arise that the strikes might be illegal under international law.
Tensions escalated further when US President Donald Trump hinted at potential direct strikes on Venezuelan soil and authorized the CIA to undertake covert actions within the nation.
Mr. Fernández stays updated with the news.
Even though the strikes are asserted to have happened far from where he fishes, his wife tries to persuade him to leave Lake Maracaibo.
Every day she urges him to seek another job. There's nowhere to go, he explains, contemplating that his vessel might be mistakenly struck.
Of course it worries me; I think about it every day, man, the father of three remarks.
One day after talks with Mr. Fernández, Trump claimed that six narco-terrorists were killed in the latest US strike in international waters).
Maduro has denied allegations linking him to drug trafficking, labeling them as political maneuvers by the US aimed at his ousting.
Venezuela's Defence Minister, General Vladimir Padrino, has warned that civilians should prepare for potential military actions from the US.
He highlighted various threats ranging from air assaults to targeted operations within Venezuelan territory.
In this context, the added risks faced by fishermen have raised alarms among advocacy groups, prompting officials like Jennifer Nava, a spokeswoman for the Council of Fishermen, to voice their concerns about being caught in the violence.
Ms. Nava suggests that despair could drive some fishermen towards illegal smuggling operations.
Meanwhile, the ongoing fear prompted Mr. Albornoz, a veteran fisherman, to report that most of his crew refused to go out fishing after hearing news of the strikes.
Reflecting on the growing difficulties faced by fishermen, Albornoz noted that the current situation includes threats from pirates and increasing financial pressures.
Despite these challenges, there remains a current of resistance among some fishermen who publicly demonstrated against the US military's actions.
José Luzardo, representative of the fishing community in El Bajo, expressed defiance regarding their nation's sovereignty, asserting their willingness to fight for Venezuela.
