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RAD­HI­CA DE SIL­VA

Venezue­lan na­tion­al Manuel Con­teras works long hours at a sawmill in Pe­nal, his hands rough­ened by wood and his face etched with wor­ry. As mil­i­tary ships, radar in­stal­la­tions, and new sanc­tions tight­en around Venezuela, his hope of earn­ing enough to move his large fam­i­ly out of Tu­cu­pi­ta in the Orinoco Delta re­mains out of reach.

Speak­ing to Guardian Me­dia via What­sApp, Con­teras de­scribed the mood among his rel­a­tives in the river­ine com­mu­ni­ties of the delta as heavy with anx­i­ety. Talk of the block­ade, sanc­tions on Venezuela’s oil tankers, and mil­i­tary ma­noeu­vres in the Caribbean has tak­en a psy­cho­log­i­cal toll on them.