giant power cut in Caracas, Maduro accuses opposition

The giant electricity cut that affected 80% of the Venezuelan capital Tuesday was caused by "sabotage" of the opposition and its perpetrators are about to be arrested, said President Nicolas Maduro.

A new "sabotage" of the opposition, according to Maduro. The collapse of public services in the country, ravaged by a deep political and economic crisis, is regularly attributed by the authorities to "sabotage" inspired by the opposition. "They sabotaged the electricity system in Caracas (….) It's a matter of hours before we capture them (…) and do not be surprised that political leaders and intellectuals are among them ", said Nicolas Maduro during a speech on state television.

The socialist leader did not give details about the identity of the alleged perpetrators of this giant blackout, which paralyzed for more than three hours transport, commerce and telephone and Internet communications.
"While we are working (……), a group of the extreme right conspires," accused Nicolas Maduro.

A poorly maintained network for the opposition Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, on the other hand, accused: "Everyone knows that here the money for the electricity sector has been stolen (….), millions of dollars, contracts for work were never executed, the maintenance was not done either. "

A cut for three hours. The blackout affected 80% of Caracas, which has six million inhabitants, said a few hours earlier on Twitter the Minister of Electricity Luis Motta. After about three hours, "90% of the service was re-established in Caracas," the minister said later. Maiquetia International Airport, which serves Caracas, has been affected for almost an hour. Medical facilities, such as the Concepción Palacios maternity hospital in western Caracas, have also been affected, according to nurses.

Cutting "control cables" According to Luis Motta, citing a report from the intelligence services, the problem comes from the Santa Teresa unit (state of Miranda, north) and it was caused by strangers who cut off "control cables" from the transformers. 19659003] Power cuts are very frequent in Venezuela, particularly in the provinces. In several western states, such as Zulia, power is rationed and interruptions can last up to 12 hours. The government accuses its opponents of being at the origin of these incidents to raise the popular anger, while the opposition puts forward the defective installations, for lack of sufficient investments.