Venezuela: Guaido urges people to protest power cuts

CARACAS

Venezuela’s self-declared interim president on Saturday called on people to take to the streets every time when there is an electricity and water cut in the country, according to El Nacional website.

“We must go out on the street to protest every time we miss a public service to make it clear who is the culprit," Juan Guaido, leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly, told his followers who gathered in Los Teques, southwest of the capital Caracas, to protest power cuts in the country.

The opposition’s El Nacional claimed that over 100 demonstrations were held across the country.

Blaming the President Nicolas Maduro for the power blackout that hit the country thrice in March, Guaido said that Maduro was trying to scare Venezuelans by leaving them in darkness.

“We must show that we aren’t afraid,” Guaido told the crowd.

Venezuela has been rocked by protests since Jan. 10, when Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.

Tensions escalated when Guaido, who heads Venezuela’s National Assembly, declared himself acting president on Jan. 23, a move supported by the U.S. and many European and Latin American countries.

Turkey, Russia, Iran, Cuba, China and Bolivia threw their weight behind Maduro.

* Writing by Sena Guler