Caracas Chronicles

Photos by Cristian Hernández

On July 22nd, at around 4:30 p.m., the fourth nationwide blackout spread through 21 out of the 23 states in Venezuela. This happened just before the rush hour in the afternoon, so many people were stranded in Caracas without subway service, forced to walk home while the city went dark.

Around midnight, power returned to several areas affected, Caracas included. However, electricity is failing again this morning in the Venezuelan capital, much like an earthquake’s aftershocks. 

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Most of Venezuela, excepting Caracas, has been subjected to severe power rationing, since March 7th, when the national power network suffered an important failure in its main column in the Southern plains.

In cities like Maracaibo, Barquisimeto, and Merida, power is rationed, as well as gas and food. Tired of closing businesses, living without nothing and walking through cities devastated by looting, many people have left those cities to move to Caracas or abroad. The rest, manage to resist.

As we have reported in Caracas Chronicles, the reason behind the blackouts is a failure in the power lines that come from the Guri hydro complex in Guayana, which provides power to most of the country. 

The regime blames the U.S. for every blackout, of course. This time, the culprit is a U.S. warplane shadowed by a Venezuelan fighter in a confusing incident over the Caribbean three days ago.

The Maduro regime and its propaganda channels in the country and abroad keep repeating that the electric grid failed because of an “electromagnetic attack”. No surprises on that front. Meanwhile, caretaker President Juan Guaidó called for a demonstration today in Eastern Caracas. He swore his oath of office six months ago, exactly… with no power so far and the support of 54 countries.