Venezuelan president declares victory after end of blackout

CARACAS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday declared victory over the U.S.-backed opposition after his government succeeded in restoring electricity following a prolonged blackout.

According to the government, the opposition with support from Washington sabotaged the national power grid to incite unrest in a bid to oust Maduro.

"Today ... five days since the attack on electricity was carried out from the United States using cybernetics against the electric system, I can say that victory is in our hands, the victory of restoring the Venezuelan electricity system," Maduro said in an address to the nation.

The government was working to strengthen the electricity service now that power has been restored to a good portion of the country, including by stepping up security at power stations, he said.

electricity went off in many parts of the country a little before 5 p.m. local time (2100 GMT) Thursday. Schools and government offices were shut down in the aftermath.

The worst blackout in modern Venezuelan history came amid heightened tensions between the ruling socialist party and the right-wing opposition.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself "interim president" on Jan. 23, is under investigation for his alleged role in causing the power outage, Prosecutor General Tarek William Saab said earlier in the day.