Nation-wide blackouts have affected Venezuela since Thursday, creating even more difficulties for a country that is in the midst of a political crisis and suffering shortages of food and medical supplies. But that hasn't stopped protesters from participating in anti-government rallies on Saturday.
Offices and schools were closed throughout the country on Friday and hospitals have struggled to operate without power. At least one hospital patient died when her respirator stopped working, the BBC reported. The outages occurred ahead of planned protests against President Nicolás Muduro on Saturday, organized by Venezuela's opposition movement.
Maduro and his political adversary, opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself interim president with international backing, have each blamed the other for causing the power failure. The blackout was reportedly caused by problems at a major hydroelectric plant. Maduro's government has called the power outage a U.S.-sponsored act of sabotage.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Some parts of Caracas and the rest of the country have had power restored intermittently, but the situation remains tenuous.
But the protests have carried on as planned, with anti-Maduro activists clashing with police on Saturday morning, Reuters reports. Maduro's Socialist Party is orchestrating its own competing march on Saturday, protesting against U.S. imperialism.
-
One great cookbook: ‘The Woks of Life’The Week Recommends A family’s opinionated, reliable take on all kinds of Chinese cooking
-
Digital addiction: the compulsion to stay onlineIn depth What it is and how to stop it
-
Can Trump bully Netanyahu into Gaza peace?Today's Big Question The Israeli leader was ‘strong-armed’ into new peace deal
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
