Venezuelan authorities have fully restored power supply in the east of the country, disrupted by the act of "sabotage" at a major hydroelectric power plant, Communications and Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th March, 2019) Venezuelan authorities have fully restored power supply in the east of the country, disrupted by the act of "sabotage" at a major hydroelectric power plant, Communications and Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said.
On Thursday, Venezuela's National Electric Power Corporation (Corpoelec) reported subversion at the Guri dam. Local media, meanwhile, said that the subsequent blackout had hit 21 out of 23 states of Venezuela, with metro lines shut down and mobile service partially disrupted as a result, according to a Sputnik correspondent. Corpoelec told Sputnik later that power supply could be fully restored in the early hours of Friday.
"Just as we repelled all acts of aggression in the past, Venezuela has now heroically restored power supply throughout the east of the country," Rodriguez said in the late hours of Thursday, as quoted by the presidential press service.
Venezuela is currently in the midst of a tumultuous political crisis. It all started on January 5, when lawmaker Juan Guaido was elected as president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which all other government branches have been refusing to recognize since 2016.
On January 23, two days after the Venezuelan Supreme Court annulled his election, Guaido declared himself the country's "interim president." Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in for his second presidential term on January 10 after winning the May election, which part of the opposition boycotted, qualified Guaido's move as an attempt to stage a coup orchestrated by Washington.
The United States immediately recognized Guaido, after which some 50 other countries followed suit. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and a number of other states have, in the meantime, voiced their support for the legitimate government of Maduro. Mexico and Uruguay have refused to recognize Guaido, declaring themselves neutral and promoting crisis settlement via dialogue.
