Venezuela: Power is restored in Caracas July 23 /update 1

Event

Caracas and other areas of Venezuela have gradually regained power on Tuesday, July 23, following the outage on Monday, July 22. Many power plants across the country, however, remain paralyzed. Power is expected to be restored in full in the coming hours.

Authorities have stated that the outage was triggered by an electromagnetic attack by the opposition, while the opposition states they are due to lack of investment and poor infrastructure.

This is the fifth power outage in the country since the start of 2019.  

Context

Recurrent power outages have affected Venezuela since late March, which have caused disruptions to transportation, water distribution systems, and telecommunications services, notably in the capital Caracas. The government had previously claimed outages were caused by acts of "sabotage" carried out by the US; however, previous outages that had been blamed on attacks were later attributed to infrastructural deficiencies.

Venezuela is experiencing an ongoing crisis spurred by President Nicolás Maduro's inauguration to a second term as president on January 10 following last year's contested election, prompting the National Assembly to declare a national emergency. At least 50 foreign governments, including the US, Canada, and Brazil, among others, have since recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the interim head of state.

Advice

Individuals in Venezuela are advised to monitor developments to the situation, adhere to instructions issued by their home governments, keep battery-operated devices fully charged whenever possible, remain vigilant for criminal behavior and avoid conspicuous displays of wealth, refrain from discussing political topics in public or on social media, and avoid all public demonstrations due to the risk of violence and arrest. In addition, individuals are advised to be cautious when driving or crossing streets if traffic signals are not functional.

The security situation in Venezuela remains complex. Professional security advice and support should be sought prior to travel.