Protests carry on in Venezuela despite nation-wide power failures

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.

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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.