© Leonardo Fernandez Viloria, ReutersPeople line up at a public transport stop in Caracas, Venezuela, during a power outage affecting the capital and other regions of the country on August 30, 2024. Electric power began to return in Venezuela on Friday afternoon after a widespread outage in the capital Caracas and other parts of the country that the government of President Nicolas Maduro blamed on "sabotage" by the opposition without citing evidence. The country's communications minister said in a voice message on Telegram that all 24 of Venezuela's states had been at least partially impacted, adding that the outage was a "desperate" attempt by Maduro's opponents to violently oust him as president.
Comment: Sabotage is often difficult to prove, especially just a few hours after it has happened, however there is a wealth of evidence showing that the West and its regime change lackeys have been repeatedly tried to foment a coup in Venezuela.
President Nicolas Maduro, who is locked in a dispute with the opposition over the outcome of a July 28 presidential election, often blames what he says are "attacks" on the power grid on his political rivals, accusations the opposition has always denied.
All 24 of the country's states reported a total or partial loss of electricity supply, Freddy Nanez, the minister of communication and information, said on state television early on Friday morning.
"We have been victims once again of electrical sabotage," he said. He gave no evidence of a deliberate attack.
Comment: Footage:
By about 1pm local time (1600 GMT), power had returned to some parts of western city Maracaibo, central city Valencia, eastern city Puerto Ordaz and capital Caracas, according to Reuters witnesses.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello told state television on Friday morning that power would return gradually, beginning with the capital.
The blackout hit some operations of state oil company PDVSA, including its largest terminal, Jose, where vessel loading and discharging was interrupted by the outage, according to sources and a shipping document seen by Reuters. A key oil upgrader that produces exportable crude, Petropiar, was also affected.
About 70% of Venezuela's oil exports are handled through Jose, which does not have its own power system. Most of U.S. firm Chevron's Venezuelan crude exports go out from Petropiar.
PDVSA's Caracas headquarters lost power but the company's largest refining complex Paraguana was unaffected, as its own power plant was in service, the sources said.
In Venezuela's largest oil region, the Orinoco Belt, the impact of the blackout was minimal as many oilfields and operations have their own generators, sources said.
Quick reaction
In the western city of Barquisimeto, residents were stocking up on gasoline and food.
Lawyer Alexa Rivas, 29, avoided what she said were five kilometer (three mile)-long lines at urban gas stations by driving to a service station outside the city.
"I can't be without gasoline, I have a 3-year-old boy and my mom is 70, I need to have reserves for any emergency," she said. "We've lived through two national blackouts, it makes us very nervous."
Venezuela last suffered national blackouts in 2019, with some lasting as long as three days. Authorities also attributed those power outages to attacks on the network - such as damage to power lines - by saboteurs and opponents of Maduro's government.
Comment: Well, Reuters, who damaged the power lines if not saboteurs?
Critics have long blamed power cuts on deteriorating infrastructure amid the country's fiscal woes. Major opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa scoffed at the sabotage accusations on Friday.
"This narrative isn't believed by even the most radical Chavistas," Guanipa said on X, referring to loyalists of the ruling socialists.
Comment: So says the opposition. However, if that was true, then Maduro wouldn't have won the election, nor would he have the backing of the military. Evidently public support is strong, because it's persisting despite the endless US subversion efforts.
In Caracas, workers gathered outside office buildings in the central Plaza Venezuela in the morning, awaiting instructions from bosses about whether or not to go home.
Bakery worker Alejandro Rondon, 25, said the store's card payment machine was still working and he was selling what he could.
"We can't make anything today because the ovens aren't working. My fear is for the yeast, which needs to be cold," he said.
Services on the city's metro were halted and had been replaced by more than 250 buses, Transport Minister Ramon Velasquez said. About 79 public hospitals were open to patients, the health ministry said.
Venezuela's government and opposition both say their candidate won last month's election, with the electoral authority and Supreme Court backing Maduro. Authorities have not released full vote tallies despite international calls to do so.
Arrests of opposition figures have risen sharply over the last week.
Get behind your president or become a US bitch. Those on the streets protesting don't really care about the future of the country. They care about the future of the US hegemony that pays them.