CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s massive power outage stretched into a second day on Friday, with schools and offices closed while millions were left stranded by what the government called an act of sabotage.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on the Venezuelan state TV network Telesur that President Nicolás Maduro had ordered schools and offices shut on Friday because of the blackout.
The state electricity company, Corpolec, said the blackout was due to “sabotage” of the Guri hydroelectric complex in southern Bolivar state — the source of most of the country’s electricity. But authorities provided no evidence of that.
Maduro blamed the United States for the outage in a late night tweet. “The power war announced and directed by U.S. imperialism against our people will be defeated. Nothing and no one can defeat the people of Bolivar and Chavez. Total unity of the patriotic people!”
Blackouts have become common in Venezuela as a severe economic crisis has made it difficult to perform maintenance or purchase imported spare parts. But the outage Thursday appeared to be broader than usual, with local media reports saying it had hit nearly all of the country’s 23 states.
Wealthier neighborhoods awoke Friday to the sound of generators, but in the poorer areas, the lack of electricity also meant no running water because the water pumps weren’t working.
People walk on a dark street during a power outage in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (Ariana Cubillos/AP)
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó tweeted late Thursday that the blackout had gone on for a record number of hours in Caracas. “This power outage is evidence of the inefficiency of the usurper,” he said, referring to Maduro. “The recovery of the electrical sector — and the country — will come through ending the usurpation.”
Guaidó maintains that Maduro has “usurped” power by winning a second term in an election marred by widespread irregularities.
Venezuela is especially tense at the moment, as a U.S.-backed opposition movement seeks to push Maduro from power. Over 50 countries have recognized the National Assembly speaker, Guaidó, as the legitimate president of Venezuela, citing irregularities in Maduro’s reelection last year. The opposition leader is planning a massive rally Saturday. Maduro accuses him of attempting a coup with help from Washington.
The U.S. government in January imposed stiff sanctions on Venezuelan oil — its principal export — but there was no sign the blackout was related to that.
In a series of tweets overnight, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ridiculed the Venezuelan government for blaming outsiders for the power outage.
“The power outage and the devastation hurting ordinary Venezuelans is not because of the USA. It’s not because of Colombia. It’s not Ecuador or Brazil, Europe or anywhere else. Power shortages and starvation are the result of the Maduro regime’s incompetence,” he wrote.
“No food. No medicine. Now, no power. Next, no Maduro,” he added in another tweet.
[How bad is Venezuela’s economy? Even the criminals are struggling to get by.]
The outage began about 5 p.m., at the start of rush hour. In some office buildings in Caracas, people were trapped in elevators. Long lines stretched along main avenues as residents scrambled to get on the few public buses that were still running despite a shortage of parts. Traffic clogged the streets, as traffic signals stopped working.
Maria Lopez, 35, a cleaning woman, normally rides the metro but was forced to walk to her home — several miles away — after the trains shut down. “I live so far away. And all of Caracas is without power,” she said, as she trudged along a main avenue.
Tomas Castro, 36, a government employee, watched throngs of people pouring down the street in a central business district. “This is not going to lead to any uprising. People have grown used to it,” he said, predicting that Maduro’s government would be removed only by force.
“Today there’s a blackout. Tomorrow there are shortages. Then there is the insane crime,” he said, ticking off the city’s problems.
Nonetheless, anger at the government was palpable. Periodically, pedestrians broke into a popular chant, disparaging Maduro’s mother.
Blackouts are just one of the problems that are increasingly crippling the country. There are frequent water shortages, inflation is soaring toward 10 million percent, and over 3 million people have migrated abroad in the past few years.
Read more:
Juan Guaidó returns to Venezuela, addresses thousands at anti-government rally
Guaidó appeals to Venezuelan public-sector workers to join anti-government movement
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