• A massive blackout has hit most of Venezuela, an anomaly even for a country that has frequent power shortages.
• President Nicolás Maduro blamed “American imperialism” for starting an “electricity war” with the Venezuelan people.
• Critics say the power grid is decaying because the government is not maintaining and funding it.

A massive blackout has left most of Venezuela in the dark, surprising even locals who have grown accustomed to food, medicine and power shortages.

The electricity went out in 22 out of 23 states on Thursday, and is still not working as of early Friday, The Associated Press reported.

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro blamed the opposition without presenting evidence, as he commonly does in the case of a power outage.

Read more: Nicolas Maduro posted a 40-minute livestream about his plans for celebrating Carnaval as Venezuela continues to collapse

“We will defeat the electricity war American imperialism has announced and orchestrated against our people,” he said on Twitter.

Jorge Rodríguez, the communications minister, went on the state channel TeleSur to denounce the “sabotage” of a power generator at the Guri Dam, one of the largest hydroelectric stations in the world.

Critics say the government has let a once impressive power grid decay because of corruption, poor maintenance and under investment.

Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader who more than 50 countries now recognize as Venezuela’s rightful president, said Maduro must resign so the electricity system can be restored.

“We have water, we have petrol, we have gas. But unfortunately we have a usurper in Miraflores [the presidential palace],” he tweeted.

When the blackout hit on Thursday at the peak of rush hour, chaos ensued on the streets of the capital Caracas as thousands of commuters were forced to leave the subway, The AP reported. Generators also shut down at some hospitals where nurses had to monitor vitals with candles.

“The person responsible for this is named Nicolás Maduro,” Pedro Fernandez, a 44-year-old systems engineer, told Reuters. “This is just the tip of the iceberg given all the things we’re suffering.”

Read more: A timeline of the political crisis in Venezuela, which began with claims of election rigging and has the US calling for regime change

Venezuela is engulfed in a humanitarian and political crisis. As empty supermarkets and soaring crime drive millions of refugees abroad, Guaidó is trying to unseat Maduro.

Earlier this week, the opposition leader returned to Venezuela after a 10 day exile despite government threats to arrest him.

He is currently trying to galvanize support among state employees, and is planning a public sector strike with union leaders. </s> The administration of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro accused opposition figure Juan Guaido and U.S. President Donald Trump of cyber "sabotage" in the electricity outage that has plunged the OPEC nation into its worst blackout on record.

"The presence on Venezuelan soil of these officials represents a risk for the peace, unity and stability of the country," the government said in a statement, after talks broke down over maintaining diplomatic links between the two countries.

Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab said he would ask Venezuela's pro-Maduro Supreme Court to open an investigation into Guaido for participating in the alleged "sabotage," he said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The U.S. and Canada are among several countries in the Americas that have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader pending a new election, after the 35-year-old congress chief declared himself interim president in January, calling Maduro's 2018 re-election a fraud. Most countries in Europe and Latin America have followed suit.

Maduro, who retains control of the military and other state institutions as well as the backing of Russia and China, has denounced Guaido as a puppet of the United States.

With the power blackout in its sixth day, hospitals struggled to keep equipment running, food rotted in the tropical heat and exports from the country's main oil terminal were shut down.

Julio Castro, of nongovernmental organization Doctors for Health, said on Twitter on Monday night that 24 people had died in public hospitals since the start of the blackout. He has said that the blackout likely aggravated existing medical conditions, but does not directly attribute any deaths to the outages.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said power had been restored in the "vast majority" of the country.

"We are on our way to consolidating the victory of the Venezuelan people over this attack," said Rodriguez. He added that the "electricity war continues," a sign that authorities may still be concerned about ongoing outages.

Power returned to many parts of the country on Tuesday, including some areas that had not had electricity since last Thursday, according to witnesses and social media.

But power was still out in parts of the capital of Caracas and the western region near the border with Colombia.

Maduro blamed Washington for organizing what he said was a sophisticated cyberattack on Venezuela's hydroelectric power operations.

"Donald Trump is most responsible for the cyberattack on the Venezuelan electricity system," Maduro said in a broadcast from the Miraflores presidential palace on Monday night.

"This is a technology that only the government of the United States possesses."

The U.S. State Department had already announced that it would withdraw its remaining diplomatic staff from Venezuela this week.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview on Tuesday with radio show Texas Standard that decisions regarding Venezuela had been affected by the combination of a rapidly deteriorating situation and U.S. diplomats being "in harm's way."

"We wanted to get them out of the country so that we could move forward in a way that provided that opportunity," Pompeo said.

Maduro, elected in 2013 following the death of his political mentor Hugo Chavez, officially broke diplomatic relations with the United States on Jan. 23 when it recognized Guaido. Washington's consulate evacuated most of its diplomatic staff two days later.

The blackout was likely caused by a technical problem with transmission lines linking the Guri hydroelectric plant in southeastern Venezuela to the national power grid, experts told Reuters.

Venezuela's electricity network has suffered from years of underinvestment and lack of maintenance. With the economy in a tailspin, spare parts are scarce, while many skilled technical staff have fled the country amid an exodus of more than three million Venezuelans in three years.

The government suspended schools and business activities on Tuesday for two more days, after doing so on Friday and Monday.

Guaido said he planned to lead national protests over the blackout in Caracas on Tuesday afternoon.

Amid signs of a growing crackdown on media, the National Press Workers' Union said that prominent radio journalist Luis Carlos Diaz was arrested on Monday by intelligence agents, who raided his home in Caracas. </s> Nearly all of Venezuela’s 23 states were plunged into darkness on Thursday afternoon after the most severe power cut in the country’s recent history.

The blackout continued all through Friday and into Saturday, as thousands of protesters turned out to support their respective leaders, who have been locked in a power struggle for the last two months since Juan Guaidó, who leads the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself interim president on January 23rd.

Guaidó has been recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries, including the United States and most of Europe.

Russia, China, Turkey, Mexico, Bolivia and a number of other countries have reaffirmed their support for Maduro as Venezuela’s only legitimate president.

The blackout promptly became a point of dispute between President Maduro and the US-backed opposition trying to oust him.

Friday evening, Venezuela’s defence minister accused the US of masterminding the power cut.

In a televised address from the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Vladimir Padrino López claimed the US was behind a “criminal aggression” designed to “disrupt and attack” Maduro’s administration.

Maduro has also accused the opposition of sabotage while his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, condemned what she called an "imperial electrical war".

In response, Guaidó urged Venezuelans to demonstrate on Saturday "against the usurping, corrupt and incompetent regime that has put our country in the dark".

The self-declared interim president and the opposition blame the massive power cut on poor maintenance, under-investment and corruption.

Washington denies having a role in the electricity system collapse.

The nationwide power outage has reportedly been caused by problems at the Guri hydroelectric plant in the southern Bolivar state - one of the largest such facilities in Latin America.

The Guri hydroelectric plant supplies much of the country’s electricity.

On Friday, offices and school were closed to help efforts to restore electricity. Hospitals have also been affected as some medical facilities do not have emergency power generators.

Dr. Julio Castro, one of the leaders of the non-profit Doctors for Health, reported via a tweet that about half of 23 hospitals surveyed were grappling with failing generators.

In Caracas's University Hospital, 25-year-old patient Marielsi Aray died after her respirator stopped working.

Video footage posted on social media showed doctors trying to keep children breathing at

the capital’s Supreme Commander Hugo Chávez paediatric hospital after it lost power.

At a maternity ward in the capital Caracas an Associated Press reporter saw nurses use candles to monitor the vital signs of their premature babies as power failed.

On Saturday morning power supplies in Caracas appeared to be partially restored.

Traffic lights in some areas were back in action but the city's metro remained closed.

According to El Nacional newspaper, fourteen of Venezuela's 23 states are still affected by the outages.

The blackout has sparked fears of the human cost of the power cuts and that it could further destabilize the beleaguered country, sending it into a new turbulent period. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela — Much of Venezuela remained engulfed by darkness early Friday amid one of the largest power outages in years, a problem President Nicolas Maduro's government quickly blamed on "sabotage" at a hydroelectric dam.

The blackout hit 22 of 23 states, according to the Associated Press. 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.

Venezuela's socialist government blasted the outage as an "electrical war" directed by the United States.

Blackouts are frequent in Venezuela, where the economy is collapsing under hyperinflation, with chronic shortages of food and medicine and a mass emigration of more than 3 million citizens.

Critics say corruption and under investment have left the country's power grid unable to function, while Maduro says the problems are intentionally created by political adversaries.

Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said right-wing extremists intent on causing pandemonium in Venezuela and taking orders from Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio were behind the blackout, although he offered no proof.

State-owned electricity operator Corpoelec blamed the outage on act of "sabotage" at the Guri Dam, one of the world's largest hydroelectric stations and the cornerstone of Venezuela's electrical grid. Rodriguez described it as a "cyber" attack intended to derail the whole system. He said electricity in Venezuela's eastern region had been restored within two hours.

Thousands of commuters flooded into the streets because subway service was stopped. A snarl of cars jammed the streets amid confusion generated by blackened stoplights. Others had to walk long distances to get home.

"The person responsible for this is named Nicolas Maduro," said Pedro Fernandez, 44, a systems engineer in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas, on his way by foot to the other side of town. "This is just the tip of the iceberg given all the things we're suffering."

The outage comes as Venezuela is in the throes of a political struggle between Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó, the head of congress who declared himself the nation's rightful president in January and is recognized by the United States and about 50 nations.

Guaidó took to Twitter to blast Maduro for the outage.

"How do you tell a mom who needs to cook, an ill person who depends on a machine, a worker who should be laboring that we are in a powerful country without electricity?" he wrote.

Venezuela's electrical system was once the envy of Latin America but it has fallen into a state of disrepair after years of poor maintenance and mismanagement. High-ranking officials have been accused in U.S. court proceedings of looting government money earmarked for the electrical system. </s> Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for alleged sabotage of the country’s power grid, the chief prosecutor has said.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for alleged sabotage of the country’s power grid, the chief prosecutor has said.

It came as the government sought to pressure an adversary who blames corruption and mismanagement for nearly a week of national blackouts.

The announcement by attorney general Tarek William Saab escalated the confrontation between the government and Mr Guaido even as the US, a key backer of the opposition leader, said it was withdrawing its last diplomats in Caracas.

The US has dismissed Venezuelan government accusations that it triggered the power crisis with a cyber attack.

Mr Guaido is already under investigation for alleged instigation of violence, but authorities have not tried to detain the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly since he violated a travel ban and then returned a week ago from a tour of Latin American countries.

Mr Saab said the case against Mr Guaido also involves messages allegedly inciting people to robbery and looting during power outages.

Information minister Jorge Rodriguez appeared on national television to condemn “Guaido and his gang” for their alleged attempt to cut the power as a way of fomenting chaos and toppling President Nicolas Maduro.

Mr Rodriguez said the power grid had been almost completely restored and water service was also returning. More neighbourhoods of Caracas had power on Tuesday morning, but anecdotal reports indicated continuing outages for many Venezuelans, who were already suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

On Tuesday, long queues converged at springs in the mountains of Caracas to collect water in bottles because water pumps have been failing during the power outages.

Venezuelans usually use debit cards to pay for food and other necessities since hyperinflation has rendered the national currency, the bolivar, nearly worthless, but the cards have not worked because of the blackouts, forcing people to scrounge for scarce cash and search for the few shops that were open.

Schools and many businesses remained closed on Tuesday, and there were widespread reports of looting in the city of Maracaibo.

Adding to tension over Venezuela’s fate, the last US diplomats in Venezuela prepared to head home as relations between Washington and Mr Maduro deteriorated further.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the US, which recognises Mr Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, was withdrawing the remaining diplomats because their continued presence in Caracas had become a “constraint” on US policy as it campaigns to oust Mr Maduro.

“We made the decision yesterday that it just was prudent to get these folks back,” Mr Pompeo added on Tuesday.

“The situation there is deteriorating. The Maduro regime’s horrific leadership over the last years has just made life there so difficult, it began to make it more difficult for the United States to take the actions that it needed to do to support the Venezuelan people. So we concluded this was simply the right step to take and this was the right time to take it.”

The Venezuelan government early on Tuesday disputed Mr Pompeo’s account, saying it had instructed the diplomats to leave within 72 hours.

Their presence “entails risks for the peace, integrity and stability of the country”, foreign minister Jorge Arreaza said.

“These are the same officials that have systematically lied to the world about Venezuela’s reality and personally have directed fake, flag-waving operations to justify an intervention,” he said.

US President Donald Trump has said “all options are on the table” in his administration’s support for Mr Guaido, who says Mr Maduro is an illegitimate leader and must resign so Venezuela can hold elections. Mr Maduro accuses Mr Guaido and the US of plotting an invasion.

The government cut ties with the US in January over its recognition of Mr Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader. US officials said Mr Maduro had no authority to take such a step.

Venezuela later retreated and allowed a skeleton staff to remain at the hilltop US embassy in Caracas as the two countries attempted to negotiate an agreement to allow some sort of representation. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for the alleged sabotage of the country’s power grid, the chief prosecutor said Tuesday, as the government sought to pressure an adversary who blames corruption and mismanagement for nearly a week of national blackouts.

The announcement by Tarek William Saab, Venezuela’s attorney general, escalated the confrontation between the government and Guaido even as the United States, a key backer of the opposition leader, said it was withdrawing its last diplomats in Caracas. The U.S. has dismissed Venezuelan government accusations that it triggered the power crisis with a “cyberattack.”

Guaido is already under investigation for alleged instigation of violence, but authorities have not tried to detain the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly since he violated a travel ban and then returned a week ago from a tour of Latin American countries.

Saab said the case against Guaido also involves messages allegedly inciting people to robbery and looting during power outages. Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez appeared on national television to condemn “Guaido and his gang” for their alleged attempt to cut the power as a way of fomenting chaos and toppling President Nicolas Maduro.

Rodriguez said the power grid had been almost completely restored and that water service was also returning. More neighbourhoods of Caracas had power on Tuesday morning. But anecdotal reports indicated continuing outages for many Venezuelans, who were already suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

On Tuesday, long lines of people converged at springs in the mountains of Caracas to collect water in bottles because water pumps have been failing during the power outages. Venezuelans usually use debit cards to pay for food and other necessities since hyperinflation has rendered the national currency, the bolivar, nearly worthless. But the cards haven’t worked because of the blackouts, forcing people to scrounge for scarce cash and search for the few shops that were open.

Schools and many businesses remained closed on Tuesday. There were widespread reports of looting on Monday in the city of Maracaibo.

Adding to tension over Venezuela’s fate, the last U.S. diplomats in Venezuela prepared to head home as relations between the United States and Maduro deteriorated further.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted late Monday that the U.S., which recognizes Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, was withdrawing the remaining diplomats because their continued presence in Caracas had become a “constraint” on U.S. policy as it campaigns to oust Maduro.

“We made the decision yesterday that it just was prudent to get these folks back,” Pompeo said Tuesday in an interview with KTRH, a Houston radio station.

“The situation there is deteriorating,” he said. “The Maduro regime’s horrific leadership over the last years has just made life there so difficult, it began to make it more difficult for the United States to take the actions that it needed to do to support the Venezuelan people. So we concluded this was simply the right step to take and this was the right time to take it.”
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The Venezuelan government early Tuesday disputed Pompeo’s account, saying it had instructed the diplomats to leave within 72 hours. Their presence “entails risks for the peace, integrity and stability of the country,” Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said.

“These are the same officials that have systematically lied to the world about Venezuela’s reality and personally have directed fake, flag-waving operations to justify an intervention,” he said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said “all options are on the table” in his administration’s support for Guaido, who says Maduro is an illegitimate leader and must resign so that Venezuela can hold elections. Maduro accuses Guaido and the United States of plotting an invasion.

Maduro’s government in January cut ties with the U.S. over its recognition of Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader. U.S. officials rejected that on the rationale that Maduro had no authority to take such a step.

Venezuela later retreated and allowed a skeletal staff to remain at the hilltop U.S. Embassy in Caracas as the two countries attempted — in vain — to negotiate an agreement to allow some sort of representation. </s> CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelans woke up to a fourth day of an unprecedented nationwide blackout on Sunday, leaving residents concerned about the impacts of the lack of electricity on the South American country’s health, communications and transport systems.

Socialist President Nicolas Maduro - who is facing a challenge to his rule by the leader of the opposition-led congress, Juan Guaido - has blamed the blackout on an act of “sabotage” by the United States at the Guri hydroelectric dam, but experts say it is the outcome of years of underinvestment.

Guaido invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency in January, arguing that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was fraudulent. He has been recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate leader by the United States and most Western countries.

Despite pressure from frequent opposition marches and U.S. sanctions on the country’s vital oil sector, Maduro is not open to negotiations on ending the political impasse and seems intent on trying to stay put, said Elliott Abrams, the Trump administration’s envoy for Venezuela.

The blackout, which began Thursday afternoon, increased frustration among Venezuelans already suffering widespread food and medicine shortages, as the once-prosperous OPEC nation’s economy suffers a hyperinflationary collapse. Food rotted in refrigerators, people walked for miles to work with the Caracas subway down, and relatives abroad anxiously waited for updates from family members with telephone and internet signals intermittent.

“What can you do without electricity?” said Leonel Gutierrez, a 47-year-old systems technician, as he carried his six-month-old daughter on his way to buy groceries. “The food we have has gone bad.”

At hospitals, the lack of power combined with the absence or poor performance of backup generators led to the death of 17 patients across the country, non-governmental organization Doctors for Health said on Saturday. Reuters was unable to independently verify the figure, and the government’s Information Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Power returned briefly to parts of Caracas and other cities on Friday, but went out again around midday on Saturday.

The outage is by far the longest in decades. In 2013, Caracas and 17 of the country’s 23 states were hit by a six-hour blackout, while in 2018 eight states suffered a 10-hour power outage, government officials said at the time. </s> Blackout In Venezuela Leaves Its Leaders Casting Blame In The Dark

A massive power outage has swept across Venezuela, leaving its two leaders at odds over who is to blame for plunging the country into darkness at a time of deep political unrest.

The outage began Thursday evening at rush hour, bringing the subway system in Caracas to a halt. Thousands of commuters returned home on foot, their walks lit only by mobile phones and the stars.

President Nicolás Maduro was quick to blame the "electricity war" on the United States, which has supported Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaidó after he declared himself interim president in January and received endorsements from dozens of countries.

"The electricity war declared and directed by U.S. imperialism against our people will be defeated," Maduro said. "Nothing and nobody will vanquish the people of Bolívar and Chávez."

Minister of Communication and Information Jorge Rodríguez described the outage as an attack on Venezuela's electric system — "a criminal action" driven by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been an outspoken critic of Maduro.

Guaidó said that 22 states were without electricity for hours, breaking a record for Caracas.

"Chaos, concern and indignation," he said.

"This blackout is evidence of the usurper's inefficiency," Guaidó said, referring to Maduro. "The recovery of the electric sector and the country comes by stopping the usurpation."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo echoed Guaidó's stance, faulting Maduro's regime for the energy shortage. "The power outage and the devastation hurting ordinary Venezuelans is not because of the USA," he said. "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 added, "No food. No medicine. Now, no power. Next, no Maduro."

Pompeo's remark follows a humanitarian operation that went awry in February. Truckloads of food and medicine were turned away at the border and Maduro's government celebrated it as a victory against regime change.

Over the years, food and medicine shortages have sent millions of citizens fleeing for a better life. Hyperinflation is estimated to hit 10 million percent in 2019, according to the International Monetary Fund, and sanctions imposed by the Trump administration are likely to increase the country's economic plight.

Electricity shortages are not uncommon in the once rich country. Despite having vast oil reserves, the government exports its oil and Venezuelans rely on hydropower for their energy. Years of scant investment in hydroelectric infrastructure, combined with drought, have crippled the energy grid.

A decade after the nationalization of the energy sector in 2007, the government started switching off the power grid in cities and towns across the country. Because of the rolling blackouts, Venezuelans have seen their food decompose, their appliances ruined and even their health care suffer, with doctors saying they sometimes perform surgeries under the light of mobile phones. Last year, one outage resulted in the deaths of three people, including a newborn.

On Thursday, nurses at a wealthy Caracas health clinic held candles to monitor the vital signs of premature babies because backup generators had shut off, The Associated Press reported. Maduro ordered schools, businesses and government entities to shutter while crews tried to restore power.

Rubio reminded his followers on Twitter that Maduro's regime has gone so far as to blame iguanas for its electrical woes. And he hit back at Communications Minister Jorge Rodríguez, who accused him of fomenting the massive outage."My apologies to people of Venezuela," Rubio said. "I must have pressed the wrong thing on the 'electronic attack' app I downloaded from Apple. My bad." </s> CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelans woke up to a fourth day of an unprecedented nationwide blackout on Sunday, leaving residents concerned about the impacts of the lack of electricity on the South American country’s health, communications and transport systems.

Socialist President Nicolas Maduro - who is facing a challenge to his rule by the leader of the opposition-led congress, Juan Guaido - has blamed the blackout on an act of “sabotage” by the United States at the Guri hydroelectric dam, but experts say it is the outcome of years of underinvestment.

“The national electrical system has been subject to multiple cyberattacks,” Maduro wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “However, we are making huge efforts to restore stable and definitive supply in the coming hours.”

Guaido invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency in January, arguing that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was fraudulent. He has been recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate leader by the United States and most Western countries.

Despite pressure from frequent opposition marches and U.S. sanctions on the country’s vital oil sector, Maduro is not open to negotiations on ending the political impasse and seems intent on trying to stay put, said Elliott Abrams, the Trump administration’s envoy for Venezuela.

The blackout, which began Thursday afternoon, increased frustration among Venezuelans already suffering widespread food and medicine shortages, as the once-prosperous OPEC nation’s economy suffers a hyperinflationary collapse. Food rotted in refrigerators, people walked for miles to work with the Caracas subway down, and relatives abroad anxiously waited for updates from family members with telephone and internet signals intermittent.

“What can you do without electricity?” said Leonel Gutierrez, a 47-year-old systems technician, as he carried his six-month-old daughter on his way to buy groceries. “The food we have has gone bad.”

Lines formed outside the few Caracas gas stations with open pumps, while many motorists stopped along the sides of highways to use their mobile phones in the few areas of the city with signal.

Some bakeries, supermarkets and restaurants were open and running on backup generators, according to Reuters witnesses. Many were asking customers to pay in U.S. dollar bills, since debit card payment systems were not working reliably and local bolivar notes have been scarce for years.

“Customers are buying drinks, batteries and cookies, but we are out of water,” said Belgica Zepeda, a salesperson at a Caracas pharmacy.

At hospitals, the lack of power combined with the absence or poor performance of backup generators led to the death of 17 patients across the country, non-governmental organization Doctors for Health said on Saturday. Reuters was unable to independently verify the figure, and the government’s Information Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Power returned briefly to parts of Caracas and other cities on Friday, but went out again around midday on Saturday. Electricity experts said that outage was most likely due to failures in the transmission system, and that the government lacks the equipment and staff to repair them.

“One can infer from the delays and the results of the failure that it was a problem in the lines that leave Guri, rather than in the plant itself,” said Miguel Lara, a former president of the state-run entity responsible for the electricity system.

The outage is by far the longest in decades. In 2013, Caracas and 17 of the country’s 23 states were hit by a six-hour blackout, while in 2018 eight states suffered a 10-hour power outage, government officials said at the time.
Partially-recognized Venezuelan Acting President Juan Guaidó says the country has "truly collapsed already", while accusing the Nicolás Maduro-led government of murdering 17 people during the ongoing nationwide power blackout.