While Nicolás Maduro's government lives on edge under a military threat from US President Donald Trump, ordinary Venezuelans spend their time trying to figure out what to eat each day.
It's Wednesday morning at Quinta Crespo, a popular market in downtown Caracas. Here, a possible escalation of the conflict is not the main concern of Venezuelans, who glance at the news while checking their wallets to find enough cash to pay.
There's not going to be an intervention, nothing like that. What's really troubling us is the rise of the dollar, Alejandro Orellano tells BBC Mundo as he savours a coffee, waiting for customers who never seem to arrive.
In the past weeks, Trump's government has deployed thousands of troops and military assets to within striking distance of Venezuela, including the world's largest warship. On Saturday, at least four international airlines cancelled flights into or out of the country, according to the Reuters and AFP news agencies, after a Friday notice from US aviation authorities warned of heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.
This comes after a series of US airstrikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific killed more than 80 people. It's part of a broader effort the administration says is necessary to stem the flow of narcotics into the US, but Maduro insists the sabre-rattling is designed to push him out of office.
Alejandro downplays the rhetoric between Washington and Caracas. He's been selling vegetables in this market for five years. Look, look how empty this is, he insists, pointing to a long, lonely aisle full of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The common enemy of the people is here: the sharp rise in food prices and the lack of purchasing power. In part, this is due to the rapid depreciation of the bolívar, which will have lost 80% of its value this year, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) figures.
A kilo of chicken, for example, costs about four times the official monthly minimum wage. And although the government offers bonuses to retirees and public workers, the money is still not enough to cover the basic food basket.
Consuelo, 74, is sceptical about an armed conflict with the US and says Venezuelans cannot afford to stock food in preparation for a war. Let whatever happens happen! And that's it! she tells the BBC, adding that worrying about the spectre of war doesn't help much.
Much of society avoids speaking openly about issues that could be sensitive for Maduro's government, after a wave of arrests followed anti-government protests over the disputed 2024 presidential elections, which have been widely rejected by the international community.
Barbara Marrero, a 40-year-old pastry chef, says: We're all waiting for something to happen because it's fair and necessary. We've been living in absolute misery for years. Venezuelans live day by day waiting for something to happen, but everyone is afraid [to speak] and nobody says anything.
Esther Guevara, 53, who works in a medical lab, doesn't hide her concern amid tensions over the US naval fleet deployment. I'm worried because I don't really know what's happening - they might invade, strike… people think it will be ok, but this is serious, she says.
Either way, many Venezuelans continue focusing on their immediate survival needs, emphasizing that while the government might be preoccupied with international pressures, the threat of poverty and hunger is a daily reality that overshadows their concerns about military action.
