CARACAS, March 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A new blackout hit Caracas and other major Venezuelan cities on Friday, the third major electricity outage in the crisis-plagued country this month.
The blackout began around 7:10 pm, leaving the capital as well
as cities including Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay and San Cristobal without
electricity, according to users on social media networks.
It is the third time since March 7 that a major power outage has hit
Venezuela — worsening the already-dire economic and living conditions in a country that is witnessing a major political showdown between President
Nicolas Maduro and opposition chief Juan Guaido.
Maduro has blamed the previous outages on sabotage, but experts have said that infrastructure crumbling from years of neglect is a more likely culprit than outside interference.
Earlier on Friday, the Red Cross said it would begin impartially
distributing aid in Venezuela in two weeks, brushing aside the threat of
political interference amid the Maduro-Guaido power struggle.
“We estimate that in a period of approximately 15 days we will be ready to
offer help,” said Francesco Rocca, head of the International Federation of
the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
Speaking at a news conference in Caracas, Rocca said agreements had been
put in place to guarantee aid distribution, but declined to give details.
The United States — which considers Guaido interim president along with
some 50 other countries — welcomed the announcement as a “real opportunity.”
Rocca said the organization would begin distributing aid mid-April, including tons of mostly US food and medical supplies that
Maduro has to date refused to allow into the country — leaving it stockpiled
for weeks on the borders with Colombia and Brazil.
The Red Cross — aiming to reach 650,000 people initially — would act
according to its principles of “impartiality, neutrality and independence,”
he said, “without accepting interference from anyone.”
Meanwhile, in a boost to Maduro, a Chinese plane loaded with 65 tons of
medical aid landed in Caracas on Friday. His government celebrated it as a
victory over US sanctions, which the socialist leader blames for the economic crisis.
“We are overcoming the purported siege, the blockade, which has been
undertaken by President Trump and the diabolical puppet from here in
Venezuela,” said vice-president Tareck El Aissami, referring to Guaido.
El Aissami, on the tarmac to meet the Chinese plane, said the medical
supplies were the “first cargo of several that start from this moment.”
It includes analgesics, surgical equipment and medicine for diseases such
as diabetes.
China’s ambassador Li Baorong said the delivery was part of previous
“cooperation agreements” with Venezuela. — NNN-AGENCIES
