Power begins to return to parts of Venezuela after mass outage
Al Jazeera
Nicolas Maduro’s government has blamed sabotage for the nationwide power outages.
Power has begun to return to some parts of Venezuela after its capital Caracas and much of the rest of the country were plunged into a blackout that the government blamed on sabotage.
The country experiences frequent blackouts, which President Nicolas Maduro, who is locked in a dispute with the opposition over the outcome of a July 28 presidential election, often blames on the opposition, accusations they have denied.
“We are reporting that at approximately 4:40am (08:40 GMT) today, Friday, August 30, an electrical sabotage took place in Venezuela … which has affected almost the entire national territory,” Communications Minister Freddy Nanez told the state-run VTV channel.
“All 24 states are reporting total or partial loss of electricity supply,” he said.
By about 1pm local time (16:00 GMT) on Friday, power had returned to some parts of western city Maracaibo, central city Valencia, eastern city Puerto Ordaz and capital Caracas, the Reuters news agency reported, citing witnesses.
