Venezuela power flickers after worst blackout in decades
CARACAS, (Reuters) - Venezuela’s power supply remained patchy yesterday after the worst blackout in decades paralyzed most of the country, exacerbating hardship for millions of people already suffering from hyperinflation and widespread shortages of basic goods.
Power went out across the recession-stricken country on Thursday afternoon due to a problem at Venezuela’s main hydroelectric plant, the government said, calling the event an act of “sabotage” by ideological adversaries.
Power returned to some parts of the capital of Caracas during the afternoon but quickly cut out again, according to witnesses and local media, threatening to extend what is already the longest blackout under 20 years of socialist leadership.
Neither Socialist Party officials nor state power company Corpoelec have provided further updates on the situation.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who most Western nations recognize as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, criticized the government for bungling the country’s energy supply and said Maduro was the one sabotaging the nation.
“Sabotage is stealing money from Venezuelans. Sabotage is burning food and medicine. Sabotage is stealing elections,” Guaido said on Twitter.
Humanitarian aid trucks went up in flames last month when Maduro deployed troops at the Colombian border to prevent the opposition from bringing in relief supplies.
Despite international outcry at Maduro’s decision to turn back the aid convoy, Elliott Abrams, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special representative for Venezuela, yesterday ruled out the use of force to deliver humanitarian assistance.
Washington, which has led calls for Maduro to step down, pledged on Thursday to “expand the net” of sanctions against Venezuela, including more foreign banks providing financing to the government.
The United States in January levied crippling oil industry sanctions meant to starve Maduro’s government of revenue.
China, which together with Moscow backs Maduro, issued a stern warning on Friday to Western nations about the risks in imposing sanctions and interfering in Venezuela. “External interference and sanctions will only exacerbate the tense situation,” said the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi. “There’s already enough of such lessons from history, and the same old disastrous road should not be followed.”
In the upscale Caracas neighborhood of Los Palos Grandes, several hundred people gathered for an opposition rally where Guaido spoke.
“Everyone is hoping that with Guaido, the country will go back to being normal,” said Yamila Oliveros, a 53-year-old architect. “That’s all a person wants, to live normally. That when I open the tap, water comes out. That when I flip the light switch, the lights come on.”
The opposition has set protests for Saturday in the capital as it seeks to maintain pressure on Maduro to step down.