Venezuela braces for rival protests amid US 'electricity war'

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans are expected to take to the streets on Saturday as the nation continues to struggle with a major blackout that President Nicolas Maduro says is part of an “electric energy war” waged by the United States.

Energy Minister Luis Motta Domínguez has said a Thursday “attack” on the Guri Dam, a large hydroelectric facility in east Venezuela, caused the blackout which has affected virtually every part of the country.

Supporters of Maduro are expected to hold rallies in the capital Caracas and other cities on Saturday.

The power outage has deepened a sense of isolation and decay among 31 million Venezuelans, who depend on the country’s vast hydroelectric infrastructure for its domestic electricity supply.

Following the the cut, Maduro ordered schools and all government entities closed and told businesses not to open to facilitate efforts to restore power.

The Venezuelan president warned Friday that Washington had “declared electric energy war… against our people,” but, “nothing and nobody will win over” the people of Venezuela.

Venezuela’s Information Minister Jorge Rodríguez said "a cyber attack targeted the automatic control system at the hydroelectric power station."

The power failure, which stopped subway service in Caracas, is also endangering patients in hospitals around the country and has cut people off from their families, friends and the outside world.

Many patients are facing danger, according to health advocates, who were particularly concerned about those who rely on respirators and the lack of air conditioning in several hospitals, which are needed to keep facilities cool in order to prevent the spread of bacteria.

“There are patients who are connected to machines,” said Dr. Luz Ardila Suarez, who works at a hospital in Caracas. “And of course, there’s no water.”

According to health advocacy group, CODEVIDA, thousands of dialysis patients were going without treatment as a result of the outage.

SS