Protests carry on in Venezuela despite nation-wide power failures

Caracas during a blackout.
(Image credit: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.