New blackout hits swaths of Venezuela, including Caracas

A new blackout hit many regions in Venezuela including much of Caracas on Monday, sowing alarm two weeks after a nationwide outage that paralyzed the country.

The power cut in the capital occurred at 1:28 pm (1720 GMT) and knocked out electricity in the city center.

Cellphone signals were also disrupted and television was blanked out. Shops hastily lowered shutters, fearing looters.

A Venezuelan newspaper reported that the power was out at Venezuela's main international airport outside Caracas.

At least eight of Venezuela's 23 states plus the district of Caracas were reportedly affected.

Anxious Twitter users said power was out across much of the capital, and in several big cities in the west of the country including Barquisimeto, Maracaibo and Barinas.

A neighood without light during a power outage in Caracas, March 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Some, especially in Maracaibo, said power came and went in their areas but remained unstable.

"Not another blackout, no God, no," tweeted Flore Melero, a 29-year-old resident in the town of Ocumare del Tuy southeast of Caracas.

"Sitting in the office, without power but with a generator, wondering 'How long will this new blackout last?' 'Do I have enough water at home?' 'What about the meat and chicken in the freezer?'" tweeted a Caracas resident, Andres Betancourt.

Their comments summed up the panic and concerns that have lingered since the last blackout, which started March 7 and lasted a week.

Then, more than a dozen patients in hospitals died, public transport came to a halt, production slowed in the vital oil sector and water supplies were interrupted, forcing citizens to turn to sewage outflows and polluted water sources.

Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez takes part in a broadcast, saying the blackout was caused by U.S. cyber attack, at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, March 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

President Nicolas Maduro blamed the previous outage on a cyberattack by the United States and alleged that the opposition, led by congress chief Juan Guaido whom the U.S. and 50 other countries recognize as interim president, was intent on "sabotaging" infrastructure. He ordered the creation of a new military unit to protect basic installations.

Observers said that while a U.S. attack was possible it was unlikely.

Citizens frustrated

The last outage was sourced back to the huge Guri hydroelectric plant that lies on the Orinoco river in the southern state of Bolivar, which provides power to 80 percent of Venezuela's population.

According to a study by the opposition-ruled congress and a medical NGO, Medicos por la Salud, around half of Venezuela's hospitals possess generators. In the last blackout, however, many did not work or were insufficient for the needs of intensive-care patients, neonatal wards, and dialysis patients.

People sit in front of a bakery during a power outage that affects Caracas, March 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Monday's blackout also hit the congress building, called the National Assembly, forcing occupants to exit in the dark using stairs.

In the streets of Caracas, anxiety was evident as residents worked out how to return home without a working subway network and few, overcrammed buses.

"I'm wondering how to get home because there's no metro. I live in the center and it takes me two hours. I move slowly," said Ana Gonzalez, a frail 64-year-old who was closing up the cleaning products shop where she worked.

For others, frustration and anger bubbled over, adding to a sense of powerlessness created by years of economic crisis that has made food and medicine scarce and prompted an exodus of more than 2.7 million Venezuelans since 2015.

(Cover image:Passengers are seen during a blackout at Simon Bolivar international airport in Caracas, March 25, 2019. /VCG Photo)