Hours after Venezuelan opposition activists scuffled with police and troops on Saturday (March 8) morning, opposition leader Juan Guaido stood on the roof of a vehicle in Caracas and addressed supporters with a bullhorn, telling them they would organize continued, massive protests despite efforts by authorities to prevent organizers from setting up a stage earlier in the day.
Prior to Guaido speaking, the activists scuffled with police and troops, as electricity remained intermittent after the country’s worst blackout in decades.
The OPEC nation was plunged into darkness on Thursday (March 07) evening in what the governing Socialist Party called an act of U.S.-sponsored sabotage but opposition critics derided as the result of two decades of mismanagement and corruption.
Much of the country remained without power on Saturday morning, including the presidential palace of Miraflores, which was running on back-up power generators, according to Reuters witnesses.
Venezuela, already suffering from hyperinflation and widespread shortages of basic goods, has been mired in a major political crisis since opposition leader Juan Guaido invoked the constitution to assume the interim presidency.
