A once-notorious smuggling port on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast has been brought to a standstill after a wave of U.S. military operations under President Donald Trump shattered the illegal trafficking routes that kept the region’s shadow economy alive.
The city of Güiria — a hotspot long linked to narcotics shipments, contraband runs, and black-market trading — now sits in economic ruin after U.S. forces targeted boats suspected of drug trafficking. Residents say the strikes decimated the fleets that ferried everything from cocaine to basic food goods between Venezuela and nearby nations.
With roughly 40,000 people living in the port city, the sudden freeze in boat traffic has brought commerce to a near-total stop.
One merchant told Reuters that businesses have survived only on government bonus payments:
“Without those, no money moves at all. The whole city is dead.”
Another local described the collapse bluntly:
“No boats leave anymore — not smugglers, not vendors, not travelers. Nothing. It’s all gone. The ports are silent.”
Families Seeking Answers Report Intimidation
Relatives of several local men believed to have been killed in the recent strikes say they were immediately visited by Venezuelan police and intelligence agents. Those families — speaking anonymously out of fear — told Reuters that officers searched their homes, warned them not to speak publicly, and offered no official information about the deaths.
They say no bodies have been recovered.
No explanations given.
Only silence and surveillance.
A City Under Watch
Since mid-September, Güiria residents report an aggressive presence of Venezuelan intelligence units — including the DGCIM (the same organization accused of torture and extrajudicial killings) and SEBIN, the regime’s notorious secret police.
Locals say the agencies have set up a de facto “command post” in a government-owned hotel nearby. Former residents claim plainclothes agents now mingle in public spaces, watching, listening, and intimidating.
“No one talks,” one former resident said. “People don’t know who’s listening or who’s reporting to the government. It’s all secrecy now.”
The Bigger Picture: Trump Expands the Anti-Cartel Offensive
The collapse of Güiria comes as the United States increases its military footprint around Venezuela. Under President Trump:
- 21 strikes have been carried out on suspected narco-smuggling vessels since September.
- Over 80 traffickers have been confirmed dead in maritime engagements.
- Around 10% of the entire U.S. Navy is now positioned in waters near Venezuela.
- Trump green-lit expanded CIA covert operations in the region.
In November, the administration formally labeled the Cartel de los Soles — an alleged narco network intertwined with Venezuela’s military elite — as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, identifying dictator Nicolás Maduro as its leader.
Trump Signals the Next Phase
Speaking to U.S. service members this week, President Trump hinted that the anti-cartel mission may soon expand from sea operations to land-based interdictions, suggesting that Venezuela’s trafficking networks will face pressure from every direction.
The message was unmistakable:
The United States under Trump will pursue drug-running operations anywhere they exist — not only in the waters where traffickers once moved freely, but potentially across the terrain controlled by Maduro’s regime.
A Narco Port Brought to Its Knees
For years, Güiria thrived on the illicit economy the Venezuelan government claimed not to see.
Now, after Trump’s crackdown, its boats are grounded, its economy frozen, its streets monitored, and its people too frightened to speak openly.
Everything — as one resident put it — is “practically dead.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
The fight against organized trafficking in the Caribbean has shifted drastically — and Güiria is ground zero for the fallout.
Trump’s allies say the mission is straightforward:
- Crush cartel routes
- Dismantle Maduro’s shadow economy
- Cut off criminal networks from the sea
- And return American dominance in the hemisphere
What comes next for Güiria — and for Venezuela’s regime — remains to be seen.
But one thing is clear:
Under Trump, the U.S. is no longer playing defense in the war against transnational cartels. It is taking the fight straight to their shores.