Venezuela plunges into darkness on 2nd day of power cut

By Lokman İlhan

CARACAS, Venezuela (AA) - A power outage that left Venezuela in the dark on Thursday evening continues in most of the country, including the capital Caracas.

The outage has been termed as a "sabotage" by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and other government officials.

The subway in Caracas is not working and schools have been closed nationwide.

Also, the government has ordered offices to remain shut until further notice.

Energy Minister Luis Motta Dominguez said on Friday electricity will be restored within three hours.

There were reports that electricity has been partially restored in some parts of the country.

Thursday's power outage left 22 out of 23 province in the dark causing temporary disruptions at the International Simon Bolivar Airport, north of Caracas.

Venezuela has been rocked by protests since Jan. 10 when Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.

Tensions flared when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself acting president on Jan. 23 -- a move supported by the U.S. and many European and Latin American countries.

Russia, Turkey, China, Iran, Bolivia and Mexico have put their weight behind Maduro.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit