Venezuela power blackout triggers school, business closures

March 8 (UPI) -- A power blackout called the worst in Venezuela's history and blamed by the government on sabotage extended into Friday, closing schools and businesses.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the closures for all of Friday, both for government and private employees, to make it easier to re-establish electricity, El Nacional reported.

Large groups had returned to their homes Thursday after walking long distances in the dark as public transportation came to a halt. Friday, the streets were mostly empty, El Nacional reported, and telephone service and Internet connection were not yet stable.

The entire nation was affected by the blackout. Venezuelan officials promised on Thursday power would be restored within hours.

Fuel stations in Caracas saw long lines Friday and there was major confusion at the airport due to the outage. Hospitals were affected and thousands of dialysis treatments were canceled, news reports said.

"They said that the blackout, of over 15 hours, is the result of external sabotage. Sabotage is the corruption, sabotage is that they did not allow elections," National Assembly leader Juan Guaido tweeted Friday.

Energy Minister Luis Motta agreed the blackout was caused by sabotage. Raman Cervantes, a worker of state utility Corpoelec, said company installations were affected by vandalism because they lack adequate protection and effective management.

Blackouts and fuel shortages have been common in Venezuela in recent years. The nation is in the midst of an economic and political crisis that's led more than 3 million Venezuelans to flee to escape violence and food and medicine scarcity.

The blackout occurred as Maduro and Guaido continue a power struggle. Guaido is acting as interim president until new elections are held, while Maduro refuses to schedule them. The National Assembly declared Maduro's presidency vacant in January on grounds his re-election was illegal. More than 50 countries, including the United States, recognize Guaido as Venezuela's leader.