Cyberattack Caused Venezuela’s Power Outage

ANGLO AMERICA, MILITARISM, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, 18 Mar 2019

Stephen Lendman | Intrepid Report – TRANSCEND Media Service

11 Mar 2019 – On Thursday [7 Mar] at around 5:00PM during the rush hour for maximum effect, a cyberattack on Venezuela’s electrical grid plunged most of the nation into darkness.

There’s virtually no doubt about who’s responsible, Trump regime hardliners going all-out to destroy Bolivarian social democracy, wanting the nation transformed into a US vassal state—part of its diabolical plot to recolonize Latin and Central America entirely.

Venezuelan authorities and the National Electric Power Corporation said the nation’s Guri dam hydroelectric power plant was cyberattacked, part of US “electric war against the state.”

Power is gradually being restored to affected areas. By Friday evening, things were normalized in Caracas’ central Altagracia district, southeastern Colinas De Santa Monica area, northern La Florida district and western Caricuao and Catia areas.

Power remains to be restored in some affected areas, the cyberattack more severe than initially believed. Maduro justifiably blamed the Trump regime for what happened, saying: “The electric energy war declared and directed by the US imperialists against our people will be destroyed. Nothing and nobody will win over the [Venezuelan] people…”

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza sharply criticized Trump and other regime officials for “celebrating” the outage, saying: “While the Venezuelan society has calmly accepted the circumstances that resulted from the sabotage in the country’s electric power industry, and the employees of Corpoelec (national electricity supplier) are…working [to restore power nationwide], those close to Donald Trump have been celebrating, enjoying the reckless distortion [of facts] despite what Venezuelans are going through.”

Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez accused the Trump regime for what happened, saying: “They carried out a cyberattack on the automatic control system. Everything shows that it is a multiformat and violent attack against whole Venezuela.”

The Guri hydroelectric power plant provides around 70% of Venezuela’s electrical power. On Friday, Defense Minister Padrino Lopez said Venezuela’s military will protect the nation’s power grids, adding: “Security authorities, emergency services, and the whole defense system have been deployed to protect the population across the country.”

Some final comments

Harvard economics professor/Kennedy School Center for International Development director/imperial tool, regime change supporter Ricardo Hausmann is advising usurper in waiting Guaido.

Reportedly, he drafted a plan to transform the country into a predatory capitalist paradise for investors.

His scheme involves replacing social democracy with profoundly unfair/free-market fascist rule—including by debt bondage to the IMF and World Bank, notorious loan shark lenders of last resort, financial terrorism by any standard.

Guaido named Hausmann his illegitimate representative at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)—the fate Maduro’s legitimate representative to the bank on its board uncertain.

In February 2017, the Trump regime falsely accused then-Venezuelan Vice President/current Industries and National Production Minister Tareck El Aissami of involvement in narco-trafficking—a CIA specialty, not Aissami or other Bolivarian officials. Venezuela actively combats drugs trafficking, one of many reasons why the US wants its government toppled.

On Friday, Aissam was wrongfully charged in New York federal court with using his office to aid international drug traffickers—a bald-faced Big Lie, part of ongoing Trump regime war on Venezuela by other means.

Its Treasury Department gave buyers of Venezuelan oil until May 10 to cease purchases or face US sanctions for noncompliance with a flagrantly illegal diktat.

Trump regime point man for regime change in Venezuela Elliot Abrams said Washington “will not use force to deliver” Trojan horse humanitarian aid unrelated to helping Venezuelans, adding: “[T]he Colombian government has said the same thing, so obviously we agree with that view and would not be involved in any actions that would be contrary to that view.”

Views of some observers that the Trump regime’s coup plot to topple Maduro failed are greatly exaggerated.

True enough, Plan A didn’t work. Expecting Maduro to be toppled straightaway showed little knowledge of overwhelming popular opposition against forcefully removing him from office, especially by military intervention.

Nor was it thought Venezuela’s military would support him. Despite Trump regime pressure and likely bribes offered its commanders, they support Bolivarian sovereign independence, free from foreign control.

Pompeo, Bolton and Abrams et al aren’t about to quit pursuing their aim to gain a Venezuelan imperial trophy after casting the die for regime change.

Thursday’s power grid cyberattack showed they have lots more dirty tricks in mind, most likely including use of armed anti-government mercenaries—imperial proxies for escalated violence and chaos in the country.

The struggle to preserve and protect Venezuelan sovereign independence and social democracy has a long way to go—US diabolical tactics sure to continue as long as Trump remains in office.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.

Go to Original – intrepidreport.com

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