Venezuela arrests 2 over power outage

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Venezuela's president announced Monday the arrest of two people who were allegedly trying to sabotage a major hydroelectric power plant of the country.

"We captured two individuals trying to sabotage El Guri's [Guri Dam] communication system," said Nicolas Maduro in his address to the nation.

Speaking about nationwide power outages that have entered their fifth day, Maduro asked the justice system to go after those responsible for this "gigantic damage".

Venezuela plunged into darkness last Thursday with power cuts hitting 21 out of 23 states.

Maduro and his government have termed the outage a "sabotage" amid a lingering political crisis in the country.

In Monday's address, the president accused the "saboteurs" of robbing the Venezuelan people of the right to life and peace.

He reiterated that "the imperialist government" of the U.S. had ordered this alleged attack, adding that the same "strategy of war" had been used to "destroy the people of Iraq, Iran and Syria".

"The U.S. government believes that with this attack, the Venezuelan people will go crazy.

"On the contrary, the Venezuelan people have responded with their deepest patriotic sentiment; the conscience to resist, endure and move forward," he said.

Local media outlet El Pitazo reported the outage appeared to be the result of a failure at the Simon Bolivar hydroelectric plant also known as the Guri Dam in the southern state of Bolivar.

The Guri Dam is one of the world's largest hydroelectric stations and the main power supply to Venezuela's electrical grid.

Venezuela has been rocked by protests since Jan. 10 when Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.

Tensions flared when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself acting president on Jan. 23 -- a move supported by the U.S. and many European and Latin American countries.

Turkey, Russia, China, Iran, Bolivia and Mexico have put their weight behind Maduro.

Also on Monday, Cuba accused the U.S. of sabotaging the power grid of Venezuela.

"Cuba condemns the terrorist sabotage against Venezuela's electric system," tweeted Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez.

He added that this outage deprives the population from essential services of life.