LARGE NEW BLACKOUT STRIKES VENEZUELAN CAPITAL, PROVINCES

Caracas, Venezuela — A widespread new power outage struck Caracas and several well-populated states on Monday, nearly two weeks after Venezuela was rocked by its worst blackout ever. Authorities gave no immediate statements about the outage, which began shortly after 1 p.m. and appeared to have affected as many as 16 of Venezuela’s 23 states, according to reports on social media. But many in the capital were already bracing for the worst, fearing a repeat of the chaos that swept across the country earlier this month when residents had to survive without water service and lost touch with loved ones abroad for several days. Shop owners in downtown Caracas pulled down shutters, while office workers left darkened offices early to try to catch a ride home after subway service was suspended.