Juan Carlos “El Guaramero” Fuentes

Their life

Juan Carlos “El Guaramero” Fuentes was a Venezuelan bus driver from the Paria Peninsula who turned to smuggling after financial hardship left him unable to support his family. When his transit bus broke down and the government failed to repair it, he lost his primary source of income, since bus drivers typically survive on a portion of passenger fares. Facing worsening poverty and few employment options, Fuentes agreed to join a drug-running crew despite having no experience at sea. After completing one successful run, he accepted a second trip—one that ended in his death during a U.S. military strike.

Fuentes spent several years operating a public transit bus in a region devastated by economic collapse, power outages, and the shutdown of key industries. The bus he drove was his only livelihood, and because Venezuela’s transport system often depends on drivers keeping part of the fare revenue, the breakdown of his bus meant immediate financial ruin. Government authorities—facing widespread infrastructure failures—either could not or would not repair it, leaving him desperate. With no stable income and a family to feed, Fuentes was among many locals forced to consider illicit opportunities that had become increasingly common along Venezuela’s northeastern coast, where drug trafficking routes to Trinidad and the Caribbean offered quick cash. Though he had no maritime background, the dangerous smuggling industry had begun recruiting inexperienced villagers like him, since veteran traffickers were avoiding the sea due to recent U.S. missile strikes. Nervous but hopeful, Fuentes joined a crew, completed one smoo

How they died

He was killed when the U.S. military struck the smuggling boat he had joined as a crew member.

Fuentes died when a U.S. missile or explosive strike destroyed the vessel he was on. Under a new U.S. policy that treats drug-running boats as military targets rather than criminal suspects, the Trump administration authorized the use of lethal force against suspected traffickers at sea. The boat carrying Fuentes—recruited because experienced smugglers feared U.S. attacks—was identified by U.S. intelligence as a drug-smuggling craft and targeted. The strike obliterated the vessel, killing all aboard. AP reporting indicates that the precise strike that killed Fuentes is not known, only that it occurred during the wave of attacks in September.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Juan Carlos “El Guaramero” Fuentes, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources