Food is rotting, homes are without water and phone signals cannot be picked up as the country’s power supply continues to be cut off. Since Thursday afternoon most of Venezuela has been struck by the energy failure. The blackout is the latest fiasco to strike the nation, which has been badly affected by an ongoing row between Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition leader Juan Guaido.
On Saturday a small supermarket owned by Manuel Caldeira was targeted by thieves after protestors clashed with police.
Mr Caldeira said: “They took food, they broke the display windows, they stole scales and point of sale terminals.
“We weren’t here when it happened, we got here and found all of this destroyed.”
Mr Guaido told a press conference yesterday: “The regime at this hour, days after a blackout without precedent, has no diagnosis.”
Last week, Maduro claimed the US was responsible for the blackout.
He said: “The electric war announced and directed by US imperialism against our people will be defeated.”
Power is generated at the country’s Guri Dam base in the Bolívar State.
The supply is controlled by firm Corpoelec.