Caracas Plunged into Darkness: Government Blames Opposition

A widespread power outage hit Caracas and other regions of Venezuela on Friday, with authorities blaming sabotage by the opposition but providing no evidence. The outage affected all 24 states, echoing similar incidents in 2019. Videos showed cities in darkness, while opposition leaders have denied past sabotage accusations.

Caracas and other regions in Venezuela faced a widespread power outage early on Friday, the communication and information ministry announced, blaming opposition sabotage despite lacking evidence.

The outage impacted all 24 states to varying degrees, as reported by Communications Minister Freddy Nanez on state television. Nanez stated, 'We have been victims, once again of electrical sabotage,' yet offered no proof for the claims in a nation familiar with frequent power interruptions.

President Nicolas Maduro, who has overseen significant economic decline since 2013, frequently alleges opposition attacks on the power grid, charges consistently denied by opposition. The last major blackout occurred in 2019, enduring up to three days. Opposition leaders were unreachable for comments on Friday.

(With inputs from agencies.)