New blackout hits Venezuela, Guterres warns Maduro not to repress opposition

Caracas — A new power blackout hit a large part of Venezuela on Monday just three weeks after an outage left almost the entire country without electricity, but no official announcement has yet been made regarding the area affected.

EFE verified that several parts of the capital were without power and Caracas Metro service has been interrupted.

Opposition lawmaker Carlos Valero said on his Twitter account that besides Caracas, the blackout is affecting the states of Aragua, Delta Amacuro, Lara, Zulia, Monagas, Bolivar, Portuguesa, Yaracuy, Anzoategui, Merida, Tachira, Nueva Esparta, Carabobo and Miranda, but he offered no further details.

The state-run National Electric Corporation (Corpoelec) still has not made any public statement about the new blackout, but state VTV television said that the Caracas Metro had implemented its contingency plan for such situations.

Electric Energy Minister Luis Motta Dominguez has not issued any statement on the extent of the situation either.

This new power outage comes after the massive blackout the country suffered on March 7, which kept virtually the whole country in the dark for five days until the Nicolas Maduro government managed to get control of the situation and restore electric service.

The government said at the time that sabotage at the Guri hydroelectric center - the country’s largest power plant, supplying about 70 percent of the national territory - was to blame for the blackout.

Maduro directly blamed the United States and the Venezuelan opposition for the so-called sabotage, claiming that “electromagnetic” attacks had been staged on the electric grid.

The opposition, however, blamed the Maduro regime for failures in the system, saying that the government’s poor management of the electric grid was the real cause of the outage.

The earlier blackout resulted in about 15 deaths due to the lack of electricity to power lifesaving equipment at Venezuelan hospitals, the opposition claims, although authorities say that just two people died.

Meanwhile, on Monday United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the Maduro government that repressing the opposition would be “a mistake” and could wind up having “dramatic consequences” for the country.

“For the secretary-general, any repression against the Venezuelan opposition would not only be a mistake, but could also lead to a escalation of dramatic consequences for the Venezuelans,” said Guterres spokesperson Stephane Dujarric at his daily press conference.

Dujarric was responding to a reporter’s question about the Maduro’s regime’s arrest on charges of terrorism of Roberto Marrero, the chief of staff for the head of the opposition-controlled Parliament and self-proclaimed interim president, Juan Guaido.

Marrero was arrested last Thursday morning during a raid on his home where, the government claimed, law enforcement officials found two rifles, a grenade and a large amount of cash.

At the time, the UN expressed its “concern” over Marrero’s arrest and asked all parties to take “immediate measures” to reduce tensions.

On the weekend, the Maduro government said that Guaido’s party, Voluntad Popular, was planning to “assassinate” several Chavista leaders using Central American paramilitaries.

As proof, the government presented alleged conversations in a messaging group supposedly between VP leaders, which the Venezuelan justice system gained access to via Marrero’s mobile phone.

Tensions in Venezuela increased dramatically after Maduro was inaugurated in mid-January to a second six-year term, whereupon Guaido proclaimed himself interim president and received the recognition of more than 50 countries as the country’s legitimate leader.

Dujarric reiterated on Monday that the UN supports the initiatives currently under way to try and reach a solution to the crisis through dialogue, despite the fact that Guterres has preferred not to participate actively in those discussions so as to preserve his neutrality.

The Portuguese diplomat has repeatedly offered to serve as a mediator if the Maduro government and the opposition request it.