Venezuela Suffers Nationwide Blackout in Latest Power Outage
martyb writes:
Venezuela Suffers Nationwide Blackout in Latest Power Outage:
Venezuela has suffered a nationwide power cut, including the capital, Caracas, which the country's Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said was caused by an "electromagnetic attack".
[...] The lights went out in most of Caracas at 4:41pm (20:41 GMT) while people in other parts of the country took to social media to report the power had gone out there too in the first major blackout since March.
"These blackouts are catastrophic," said 51-year-old janitor Bernardina Guerra, who lives in Caracas. "I live in the eastern part of the city and there the lights go out every day. Each day things are worse."
At least 14 Venezuelan states lost power on Monday, according to Reuters witnesses and reports on social media.
The state-owned power company Corpolec only reported a breakdown affecting sectors of the capital, Caracas.
[...] Blackouts are a common occurrence in Venezuela, especially in remote western regions.
The government usually blames them on sabotage but experts say that a lack of investment, poor management and corruption are the more likely culprits.
The oil-rich country's hyperinflationary economic crisis has led to widespread shortages in food and medicine, prompting more than four million Venezuelans to leave the country.
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