Venezuela's Maduro Announces New Authority To Protect Key Infrastructure After Blackout

CARACAS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2019) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the creation of a new structure as part of the Armed Forces tasked with protecting key infrastructure in the wake of the recent large blackout in the county.

"I would like to inform you about the creation and launch of the new structure to protect the strategically important key infrastructure of Venezuela," Maduro said in a speech at the presidential palace in Caracas on Friday, as aired by his Periscope channel.

Maduro added that the new structure would include four departments.

The president noted that the "cyberattack against the Venezuelan electric energy system was a terror act by the US government against the Venezuelan people.

"

"Venezuelans have defeated this terror attack and we are now preparing to move forward," Maduro argued.

On March 7, nearly the whole territory of Venezuela was swept by a blackout, caused by what the national electricity supplier Corpoelec called sabotage at a the Guri dam. The outage lasted for almost a week.

The Venezuelan authorities have accused the United States of waging a cyberattack against the hydroelectric power plant, the claim denied by Washington.