Guaido ‘sabotaged power grid’
Venezuelan officials reported blackouts easing in some areas yesterday, while the chief prosecutor said opposition leader Juan Guaido was being investigated for allegedly sabotaging the national power grid, whose collapse last week has inflicted misery on millions.
The announcement by attorney-general Tarek William Saab escalated the government’s standoff with Guaido, although there are questions about how aggressively authorities would move against a man who is staunchly supported by the United States as well as many Venezuelans.
Guaido, who is trying to oust President Nicolas Maduro and hold elections, blames corruption and incompetence for nearly a week of nationwide blackouts that have deprived most of the already struggling population not just of electricity, but also water and communications.
Adding to the tensions over Venezuela’s fate, the US said yesterday it was withdrawing its last diplomats still in the capital, Caracas. The US State Department also said American citizens residing or travelling in Venezuela should leave.
‘‘Bye bye,’’ Maduro said on national TV after praising the professional conduct of James Story, the top-ranking diplomat at the US embassy.
Maduro also said he would seek the help of allies Cuba, Russia, China and Iran in investigating his allegation that a US cyberattack targeted Venezuelan power facilities. The US has dismissed the accusation as absurd and an attempt to divert attention from the chronic failings of Maduro’s regime.
Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the power grid had been almost completely restored, and water service was also returning. However, anecdotal reports indicated continuing outages for many communities.
Yesterday, long lines of people converged again at springs in the mountains of Caracas to collect water in bottles, because without power, water pumps have been out of service.
Even some of Maduro’s relatives couldn’t stand the power outages, according to authorities in neighbouring Colombia.
The leader’s cousin, Argimiro Maduro, along with his spouse, children and extended relatives, tried to enter Colombia, seeking relief until power was restored in Venezuela, said Christian Kruger, Colombia’s migration director. Permission was denied.
Colombia, which views Maduro as an illegitimate leader and recognises Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, would not allow Maduro’s relatives to vacation while ‘‘avoiding the reality of a people in agony’’, Kruger said. Maduro did not comment on the report. –AP