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Moscow believes Western sabotage caused Venezuelan blackout

According to the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, it was a serious trouble, which claimed the lives of many Venezuelan people

A night view of Caracas after power supply was restored Valery Sharifulin/TASS

A night view of Caracas after power supply was restored

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. Moscow believes that an act of Western sabotage was the reason behind the recent large-scale power outage in Venezuela, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Friday.

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Maduro blames US for power outage in Venezuela

According to her, it was a serious trouble, which claimed the lives of many Venezuelan people. "It was caused by an act of sabotage," the Russian diplomat stressed. "According to the country’s legitimate government headed by President Maduro, as well as to information from other credible sources, Venezuela’s power grid was attacked from abroad," Zakharova noted.

"It was an attempt to remotely influence control systems at major electrical substations where Canadian-made equipment is installed," Zakharova pointed out. "Clearly, those who carried out this act of aggression were well aware of its operation algorithms and vulnerabilities. It is them who are to blame for the loss of human life, including in hospitals that were left without power," she said.

"We hope that this responsibility will sooner or later be translated into a verdict," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman went on to say. "Before any questions come up concerning President Maduro’s recent statement [about requesting the United Nations, Russia, China, Iran and Cuba to assist in investigating the attack on the country’s electricity grid - TASS], I would like to point out that if we receive an official request for expert assistance, we will give it proper attention," she said.

Zakharova also noted that Western countries were increasingly using such harmful methods, aimed at affecting infrastructure facilities, as part of the so-called hybrid war.

Power outage

Caracas and 20 of the country’s 23 regions were left without electricity on March 7. The National Electric Company said the blackout had been caused by an accident at the Simon Bolivar Hydroelectric Plant, which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blamed on "US imperialism." However, the US Department of State denied any involvement.

Power supplies began to be gradually restored on March 11.

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Maria Zakharova

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