A fisherman prepares his net in the fishing community of El Morro de Puerto Santo, on Venezuela's Paria Peninsula, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Photos of Venezuelan fishing communities affected by US military strike
PARIA PENINSULA, Venezuela (AP) — Impoverished fishing communities on Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula live on an idyllic stretch of Caribbean coast.
Venezuela’s economy collapsed a decade ago, and the local fishing industry, which once offered jobs with living wages, has declined. Some fishing boats have been repurposed to smuggle migrants and traffic humans, wildlife and fuel.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Boats are anchored off El Morro de Puerto Santo, on Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)A fisherman arrives with his day’s catch at the fishing port in Cumana, capital of Venezuela’s Sucre state, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)Shoppers load their goods into a car outside the municipal market in Cumana, capital of Venezuela’s Sucre state, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)A barely visible mural of late President Hugo Chávez fades from a wall near the international port in Güiria, on Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)Children swim past the hull of a rusting boat at the port in Güiria, on Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)Women play bingo on a street in Güiria, on Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)Worshippers attend a service at an evangelical church in the fishing community of El Morro de Puerto Santo, on Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)Fishermen arrive at the port in Cumana, capital of Venezuela’s Sucre state, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)A fish vendor counts his money at the fish market in Cumana, capital of Venezuela’s Sucre state, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)Youth stand at an unused security booth at the port in Güiria, on Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)A woman hangs clothes to dry in the fishing community of El Morro de Puerto Santo, on Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)A boat sits stranded along the shore in Cumana, capital of Venezuela’s Sucre state, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
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