Far Right Plots to Sabotage Venezuela's Electrical System in Attempt to Disrupt the Electoral Process

During a broadcast of the program Con Maduro+, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced a destabilization plan by extremist sectors of the Venezuelan opposition which plans to carry out an electricity war to disrupt social peace in the country in the run-up to the July 28 presidential elections.

On Monday, June 24, the Venezuelan president showed evidence of secret conversations within the far-right opposition, which revealed plans to attack the National Electrical System (SEN), especially in areas with greater support for Chavismo, to generate a climate of instability in the midst of the electoral process.

#DeInterés 📰| Jefe de Estado precisó que tiene pruebas de que la extrema derecha fascista se encamina a una ofensiva contra el sistema eléctrico.
“Una guerra eléctrica para tratar de ocasionar un evento en el país que dañe el clima de paz, tranquilidad y felicidad que está… pic.twitter.com/Z5c7MMUCam
— Prensa Presidencial (@PresidencialVen) June 25, 2024

The investigations carried out by the security agencies led to the arrest of the perpetrators of these attacks in different places of the country. The president said that these criminals had been paid to carry out acts of sabotage.

“They were captured, they are in jail, I ask the Attorney General’s Office for the full weight of the law because this is a terrorist act. Let them be imprisoned for all the years that the penal code says,” President Maduro stressed.

He mentioned attacks on the SEN in Nueva Esparta, Guárico, and Zulia states, where task forces have been deployed to reestablish the service after the electric installations were damaged. In Nueva Esparta, the perpetrator confessed to having received a payment to disrupt the electrical infrastructure for electoral reasons.

In response to this threat, a Special Patrol and Surveillance Plan has been launched for all vital SEN facilities, with the active participation of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) and the civic-military union, which will have the support of the communes and the community councils.

“The extremist right wing has entered into desperation,” President Maduro said. “I know what their intentions are. In their meetings the ultra-right go so far as to say that the government will not make it to July 28, because ‘something is going to happen’… But they have no chance of success. On the contrary, they are going to sink more if they go down that road.”

He warned those within the opposition who might be tempted to repeat “an adventure that is marked by failure.” To counteract any destabilization attempt, he urged Jorge Rodriguez, president of the National Assembly and leader of the government delegation to the national dialogue, to send a strong message to the opposition.

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Historical patterns
The recent history of Venezuela is marked by successive violent attempts to overthrow the government of President Maduro: coups d’état, assassination attempts, failed invasions, and multiple conspiracies to destabilize the economy and generate violence.

In addition to the complaints made by President Maduro, on Tuesday, June 25, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez denounced a sabotage plan to demolish the Angostura Bridge. An attempt was made to provoke a collapse by cutting the cables that support the structure of the bridge that connects the states of Anzoátegui and Bolívar. The Attorney General’s Office has initiated investigations into the incident. Attorney General Tarek William Saab has warned that those found guilty of sabotaging public services will face the maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

#EnVideo📹| Vicepresidenta Ejecutiva @delcyrodriguezv detalló que han cortado entre el 10% y 20% de las guayas que sostienen el puente de Angostura ubicado sobre el río Orinoco en Venezuela.#LoQueDigaNico pic.twitter.com/FuwhXwQbRl
— VTV CANAL 8 (@VTVcanal8) June 25, 2024

The electricity war is one such recurrent example in this pattern. The vulnerability of the Venezuelan electrical system has been exploited in the past, such as during the Guaidó coup in 2019, to create chaos and pressure on the government. The coincidence of the recent attacks with the presidential elections, together with the statements of the detainees, point to a strategy aimed at impacting next month’s electoral process and creating a climate of turbulence to facilitate the destabilization of the country.

The opposition sectors behind these acts of sabotage and terrorism have maintained an electoral discourse, and have presented themselves as open to following the institutional path. However, the refusal of Unitary Platform candidate Edmundo González Urrutia to sign the National Electoral Council’s agreement of recognition of results, in addition to the electrical sabotage, reveal the true strategy of continuing on the path of political violence.

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/DZ