Venezuela’s Communication and Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez has uploaded pictures and videos of a suspected attack on the country’s power station, arguing in one of them that “the criminals” have specifically “generated a fire” to permanently block the transportation of cargo.
A massive blackout that hit several regions in Venezuela, including large swathes of Caracas, as early as on Monday and continued into Tuesday, has severely affected Caracas’ metro, bringing it to a complete standstill, El Nacional reported, adding that the day earlier, three of five lines didn’t work due to repeated disruptions in the electricity supply.
As Venezuela began suffering from a spate of nationwide blackouts, President Nicolas Maduro branded the outages “sabotage” masterminded by the US, adding that “several saboteurs” were detained while attempting to disable the power grid.
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On 7 March, a large-scale power outage hit the majority of Venezuelan states, leaving the nation, over 30 million people, without access to basic amenities, including water and medical care at hospitals.
The crisis in the South American country reached its climax after Juan Guaido declared himself “interim president” of the nation in late January, with Maduro as the country’s legitimate head denouncing the self-proclamation and accusing Washington, which imposed new limitations on Caracas, of plotting a coup against him. He vowed to halt what he called outside pressure and stand on guard for the country’s sovereignty.