‘Electrical war’: saboteurs blamed as massive power cut in Venezuela leaves millions in the dark
- Commuters in the country’s crumbling capital, Caracas, were forced to walk home from work after the metro service was paralysed by the outage
- State-owned electricity operator Corpoelec blamed the outage on act of ‘sabotage’ at the Guri Dam
Much of Venezuela remained in darkness early on Friday amid one of the largest power cuts in years, raising tensions in a country already on edge from ongoing political turmoil.
The blackout hit 22 of 23 states by some accounts. It struck the capital Caracas, which until now has been spared the worst of a collapse in the nation’s grid, at the peak of rush hour.
Thousands of commuters flooded into the streets because subway services stopped. Cars jammed the streets amid confusion caused by black traffic lights. Others had to walk long distances to get home.
In the darkened maternity ward at the Avila Clinic in wealthy eastern Caracas, several mothers cried as nurses holding candles monitored the vital signs of premature babies in incubators after backup generators stopped working.
Venezuela’s socialist government blasted the outage as an “electrical war” directed by the United States. Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said right-wing extremists intent on causing pandemonium and taking orders from Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio were behind the blackout.