CARACAS/BARQUISMETO, Venezuela (Reuters) – Power began to be restored in some areas of Venezuela’s capital Caracas and much of the country on Friday evening after a blackout that the government blamed without providing evidence on opposition sabotage.
President Nicolas Maduro, who is at odds with the opposition over the results of the July 28 presidential election, has frequently blamed “attacks” on the power grid on his political opponents, a charge the opposition has consistently denied.
Speaking on state television on Friday night, President Maduro blamed the blackout on an attack on the Guri reservoir, Venezuela’s largest hydroelectric project, and blamed opposition forces and US fascists.
Maduro did not provide evidence for the allegations but said the attacks were focused on power lines and were large in scale.
An expedited investigation is underway, he added.
“I will not say anything more because the case is under investigation so that justice can be achieved,” Maduro said.
Power supplies have been fully or partially cut off in all of the country’s 24 provinces, Communications and Information Minister Freddy Nanez said on state television early Friday.
“We have once again become victims of electrical interference,” he said.
