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CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s capital Caracas and other parts of the country were hit by widespread power outages this morning, the Communications and Information Ministry said, accusing the opposition of sabotage without providing any evidence.
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Information Freddy Nanez said on state television that the blackout affected almost the entire country, with all 24 states reporting full or partial power outages.
“Once again we have become victims of power sabotage,” the minister said.
However, he offered no evidence of sabotage in a country that frequently experiences power outages, though this one was not as nationwide as the one in the country. Just Tuesday, a series of smaller blackouts hit several states, which Nunes also attributed to sabotage.
President Nicolas Maduro, whose economy has deteriorated dramatically since taking office in 2013, has frequently complained about opposition attacks on the power grid, a charge the opposition has always denied.
Opposition figures could not immediately be reached for comment during a power outage on Friday.
The last major blackout occurred in 2019, when Venezuela experienced three nationwide blackouts, sometimes lasting up to three days, which authorities blamed on attacks on the network by saboteurs and opponents of Maduro’s government, such as damaging power lines.
Venezuela’s electoral council declared Maduro, who has ruled since 2013, the winner of the July 28 presidential election, but has yet to release full results. The opposition has since released results showing its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won by a landslide.
Several videos circulated on social media on Friday showing power outages in some cities. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the authenticity of the videos.
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