(Reuters) – A major power outage hit crisis-stricken Venezuela on Thursday, according to Reuters witnesses, a problem the government of President Nicolas Maduro quickly blamed on “sabotage” at a hydroelectric dam that provides much of the country’s power. Electricity outages are frequent in Venezuela, where the economy is collapsing under hyperinflation, with chronic shortages of food and medicine and mass emigration of more than 3 million citizens. Critics say corruption and
underinvestment have left the country’s power grid unable to function, while Maduro says the problems are intentionally created by political adversaries. Crowds flooded a main avenue of Caracas. Many people said they expected they would have to walk several hours to their homes because the few buses on the streets were full and the city’s metro system was shut down. “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. READ MORE
