ANAA, March 9 (Saba) - Thousands of Venezuelans are expected to demonstrate again on Saturday in an attempt by opposition leader Juan Guido to step up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro among the power crisis that has plunged the country into darkness.
Guido and Maduro, who are locked in a bitter power struggle in the oil-rich South American country, have called on supporters to take to the streets of Caracas and other cities.
"Tomorrow, I call upon the Venezuelan people to express their views firmly on the streets against the corrupt, helpless and rapacious regime that has plunged our country into darkness," Guido wrote on Twitter.
"We are going back to the streets and we will not leave until we reach the goal," said the speaker of parliament, who has appointed himself acting president and has been recognized by more than 50 countries, including the United States.
Guido is trying to force Maduro, who was reelected in May, to step down and hold new elections.
On the other hand, Maduro asked his supporters to go out on Saturday in marches against "imperialism", condemning the "electricity war declared by American imperialism."
This comes amid the continuing power outage that began on Thursday night, one of the longest and most extensive interruptions in the history of the country, which suffers from the consequences of a suffocating crisis.
Telephone lines and the Internet have also been cut off abruptly, as is the distribution of water in the buildings, which are powered by electricity pumps.
The power outage has caused chaos in the country and has affected the continued functioning of hospitals and other public services, according to local media reports.
The Venezuelan authorities suspended work and study on Friday, and Maduro took the decision "to facilitate the restoration of electricity in the country, which is facing an imperial power war," according to a duel to Delly Rodriguez, vice president.
But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced Maduro's accusation that his country was causing power cuts.
He said on Twitter that "power outages and hunger due to the inability of the Maduro system."
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Saba