CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela ordered American diplomats on Tuesday to leave within 72 hours after President Nicolas Maduro accused U.S. counterpart Donald Trump of cyber “sabotage” that plunged the South American country into its worst blackout on record.

“The presence on Venezuelan soil of these officials represents a risk for the peace, unity and stability of the country,” the government said in a statement, after talks broke down over maintaining diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab said on Tuesday he was asking Venezuela’s pro-Maduro Supreme Court to open an investigation into opposition leader Juan Guaido for participating in the alleged “sabotage.”

Washington has taken the lead in recognizing Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful president after the 35-year-old congress chief declared himself interim president in January, calling Maduro’s 2018 re-election a fraud. Most countries in Europe and Latin America have followed suit.

The United States has implemented a raft of sanctions to put pressure on Maduro, and the U.S. special envoy on Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, said on Tuesday that Washington was prepared to impose “very significant” additional sanctions in the coming days against financial institutions deemed to be supporting Maduro’s government.

Maduro, who retains control of the military and other state institutions as well as the backing of Russia and China, has blamed Washington for his nation’s economic turmoil and denounced Guaido as a puppet of the United States.

With the power blackout in its sixth day, hospitals struggled to keep equipment running, food rotted in the tropical heat and exports from the country’s main oil terminal were shut down.

Guaido joined a series of small opposition demonstrations around Caracas on Tuesday afternoon to protest the blackout, where he mocked the prosecutor’s investigation.

“So that guy comes out and says we’re guilty of a supposed sabotage when all of Venezuela knows, when the whole world knows, who the real saboteur is ... I’m going to call him out by name: Maduro!” he shouted.

The crowd in response shouted a profane insult, part of an increasingly common call-and-response game played in public places to express discontent with the socialist leader.

Power returned to many parts of the country on Tuesday, including some areas that had not had electricity since last Thursday, according to witnesses and social media.

But power was still out in parts of the capital of Caracas and the western region near the border with Colombia.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said power had been restored in the “vast majority” of the country.

“We are on our way to consolidating the victory of the Venezuelan people over this attack,” said Rodriguez. He added that the “electricity war continues,” a sign that authorities may still be concerned about ongoing outages.

Julio Castro, of nongovernmental organization Doctors for Health, said on Twitter on Monday night that 24 people had died in public hospitals since the start of the blackout. He has said that the blackout likely aggravated existing medical conditions but does not directly attribute any deaths to the outages.

The blackout was likely caused by a technical problem with transmission lines linking the Guri hydroelectric plant in southeastern Venezuela to the national power grid, experts told Reuters.

Maduro blamed Washington for organizing what he said was a sophisticated cyber attack on Venezuela’s hydroelectric power operations.

“Donald Trump is most responsible for the cyber attack on the Venezuelan electricity system,” Maduro said in a broadcast from the Miraflores presidential palace on Monday night.

“This is a technology that only the government of the United States possesses.”

The U.S. State Department had already announced that it would withdraw its remaining diplomatic staff from Venezuela this week.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview on Tuesday with radio show Texas Standard that decisions regarding Venezuela had been affected by the combination of a rapidly deteriorating situation and U.S. diplomats being “in harm’s way.”

Maduro, elected in 2013 following the death of his political mentor Hugo Chavez, officially broke diplomatic relations with the United States on Jan. 23 when it recognized Guaido. Washington evacuated most of its diplomatic staff two days later.

Amid signs of a growing crackdown on media, the National Press Workers’ Union said that prominent radio journalist Luis Carlos Diaz was arrested on Monday by intelligence agents, who raided his home in Caracas.

The Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Venezuelan authorities briefly detained American journalist Cody Weddle last week before ordering him to leave the country.</s>En medio del masivo apagón en Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro llamó a los colectivos paramilitares chavistas a la "resistencia activa"

Esas milicias están detrás de la muerte de siete personas durante el frustrado ingreso de ayuda humanitaria. El llamado del dictador se produce horas antes de protestas convocadas en todo el país por el presidente interino Juan Guaidó para expresar el descontento por el corte de energía más grave que haya sufrido el país</s>Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.





CARACAS, March 12 - Venezuela ordered American diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours on Tuesday after President Nicolas Maduro accused U.S. counterpart Donald Trump of cyber "sabotage" that plunged the OPEC nation into its worst blackout on record.

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said U.S. diplomats on Venezuelan soil must leave within three days, after talks broke down over maintaining diplomatic "interest sections" in the two countries."The presence on Venezuelan soil of these officials represents a risk for the peace, unity and stability of the country," the government said in a statement.The U.S. State Department had announced on Monday it will withdraw its staff from Venezuela this week, saying their presence had become "a constraint on U.S. policy."Washington has taken the lead in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's rightful president after the 35-year-old Congress chief announced an interim presidency in January after declaring Maduro's 2018 re-election a fraud. Most countries in Europe and Latin America have followed suit.Maduro, who retains control of the military and other state institutions as well as the backing of Russia and China, has denounced Guaido as a puppet of the United States.Julio Castro, of nongovernmental organization Doctors for Health, said on Twitter on Monday night that 24 people have died in public hospitals since the start of the blackout.With the blackout in its sixth day, hospitals struggled to keep equipment running, food rotted in the tropical heat and exports from the country's main oil terminal were shut down.Venezuela's opposition-controlled Congress on Monday declared a symbolic "state of alarm" on Monday.Power returned to many parts of the country on Tuesday, including some areas that had not had electricity since last Thursday, according to witnesses and social media.But power was still out in parts of the capital of Caracas and the western region near the border with Colombia.'TRUMP MOST RESPONSIBLE'Maduro blamed Washington for organizing what he said was a sophisticated cyber attack on Venezuela's hydroelectric power operations."Donald Trump is most responsible for the cyber attack on the Venezuelan electricity system," Maduro said in a broadcast from the Miraflores presidential palace on Monday night."This is a technology that only the government of the United States possesses."Maduro, elected in 2013 following the death of his political mentor Hugo Chavez, officially broke diplomatic relations with the United States on Jan. 23 when it recognized Guaido. Washington evacuated most of its diplomatic staff two days later.The blackout was likely caused by a technical problem with transmission lines linking the Guri hydroelectric plant in southeastern Venezuela to the national power grid, experts told Reuters.Venezuela's electricity network has suffered from years of underinvestment and lack of maintenance. With the economy in a tailspin, spare parts are scarce while many skilled technical staff have fled the country amid an exodus of more than three million Venezuelans in three years.The government suspended schools and business activities on Tuesday for two more days, after doing so on Friday and Monday.Guaido planned to lead national protests over the blackout in Caracas on Tuesday afternoon."With our neighbors and relatives, we will protest in the streets and avenues closest to each other's home to claim our rights," Guaido said on Twitter on Tuesday.Amid signs of a crackdown on media, the National Press Workers' Union said that prominent radio journalist Luis Carlos Diaz was arrested on Monday by intelligence agents at his home in Caracas.The Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Venezuelan authorities briefly detained American journalist Cody Weddle last week before ordering him to leave the country.

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>></s>Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted late Monday that he plans to pull all remaining U.S. diplomats from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.

"This decision reflects the deteriorating situation in #Venezuela as well as the conclusion that the presence of U.S. diplomatic staff at the embassy has become a constraint on U.S. policy," Pompeo Tweeted.

The decision comes amid a nationwide blackout which has led to mass looting, spoiled food, and dying medical patients.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blamed the White House for the power outages. But former State Department senior adviser Christian Whiton said it’s a direct result of Maduro’s dictatorship.

“Maduro [and] the socialists have neglected Venezuela’s infrastructure including its energy grid for a long time, long time and this is the culmination of that,” Christian Whiton told FOX Business' Kennedy on Monday.

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido told FOX Business exclusively on Monday that the Maduro regime is to blame for burning humanitarian aid.

“The world has seen how Maduro’s government has burned medicines and foodstuffs. The world saw how they blocked trucks to enter medicine into the country,” he told Trish Regan. “In fact, there’s a plant in Cucuta right now, and a plant producing emergency supplies for hospitals, and we know that as long as Maduro’s government is in place, it will be difficult to enter [for] these supplies. But our responsibility is to attend to our people’s suffering.”</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for the alleged sabotage of the country's power grid, the chief prosecutor said Tuesday, as the government sought to pressure an adversary who blames corruption and mismanagement for nearly a week of national blackouts.

The announcement by Tarek William Saab, Venezuela's attorney general, escalated the confrontation between the government and Guaido even as the United States, a key backer of the opposition leader, said it was withdrawing its last diplomats in Caracas. The U.S. has dismissed Venezuelan government accusations that it triggered the power crisis with a "cyberattack."

Guaido is already under investigation for alleged instigation of violence, but authorities have not tried to detain the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly since he violated a travel ban and then returned a week ago from a tour of Latin American countries.

Saab said the case against Guaido also involves messages allegedly inciting people to robbery and looting during power outages. Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez appeared on national television to condemn "Guaido and his gang" for their alleged attempt to cut the power as a way of fomenting chaos and toppling President Nicolas Maduro.

Rodriguez said the power grid had been almost completely restored and that water service was also returning. More neighborhoods of Caracas had power on Tuesday morning. But anecdotal reports indicated continuing outages for many Venezuelans, who were already suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

On Tuesday, long lines of people converged at springs in the mountains of Caracas to collect water in bottles because water pumps have been failing during the power outages. Venezuelans usually use debit cards to pay for food and other necessities since hyperinflation has rendered the national currency, the bolivar, nearly worthless. But the cards haven't worked because of the blackouts, forcing people to scrounge for scarce cash and search for the few shops that were open.

Schools and many businesses remained closed on Tuesday. There were widespread reports of looting on Monday in the city of Maracaibo.

Adding to tension over Venezuela's fate, the last U.S. diplomats in Venezuela prepared to head home as relations between the United States and Maduro deteriorated further.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted late Monday that the U.S., which recognizes Guaido as Venezuela's interim president, was withdrawing the remaining diplomats because their continued presence in Caracas had become a "constraint" on U.S. policy as it campaigns to oust Maduro.

"We made the decision yesterday that it just was prudent to get these folks back," Pompeo said Tuesday in an interview with KTRH, a Houston radio station.

"The situation there is deteriorating," he said. "The Maduro regime's horrific leadership over the last years has just made life there so difficult, it began to make it more difficult for the United States to take the actions that it needed to do to support the Venezuelan people. So we concluded this was simply the right step to take and this was the right time to take it."

The Venezuelan government early Tuesday disputed Pompeo's account, saying it had instructed the diplomats to leave within 72 hours. Their presence "entails risks for the peace, integrity and stability of the country," Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said.

"These are the same officials that have systematically lied to the world about Venezuela's reality and personally have directed fake, flag-waving operations to justify an intervention," he said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said "all options are on the table" in his administration's support for Guaido, who says Maduro is an illegitimate leader and must resign so that Venezuela can hold elections. Maduro accuses Guaido and the United States of plotting an invasion.

Maduro's government in January cut ties with the U.S. over its recognition of Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader. U.S. officials rejected that on the rationale that Maduro had no authority to take such a step.

Venezuela later retreated and allowed a skeletal staff to remain at the hilltop U.S. Embassy in Caracas as the two countries attempted — in vain — to negotiate an agreement to allow some sort of representation.</s>The administration of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro accused opposition figure Juan Guaido and U.S. President Donald Trump of cyber "sabotage" in the electricity outage that has plunged the OPEC nation into its worst blackout on record.

"The presence on Venezuelan soil of these officials represents a risk for the peace, unity and stability of the country," the government said in a statement, after talks broke down over maintaining diplomatic links between the two countries.

Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab said he would ask Venezuela's pro-Maduro Supreme Court to open an investigation into Guaido for participating in the alleged "sabotage," he said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The U.S. and Canada are among several countries in the Americas that have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader pending a new election, after the 35-year-old congress chief declared himself interim president in January, calling Maduro's 2018 re-election a fraud. Most countries in Europe and Latin America have followed suit.

Maduro, who retains control of the military and other state institutions as well as the backing of Russia and China, has denounced Guaido as a puppet of the United States.

With the power blackout in its sixth day, hospitals struggled to keep equipment running, food rotted in the tropical heat and exports from the country's main oil terminal were shut down.

Julio Castro, of nongovernmental organization Doctors for Health, said on Twitter on Monday night that 24 people had died in public hospitals since the start of the blackout. He has said that the blackout likely aggravated existing medical conditions, but does not directly attribute any deaths to the outages.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said power had been restored in the "vast majority" of the country.

"We are on our way to consolidating the victory of the Venezuelan people over this attack," said Rodriguez. He added that the "electricity war continues," a sign that authorities may still be concerned about ongoing outages.

Power returned to many parts of the country on Tuesday, including some areas that had not had electricity since last Thursday, according to witnesses and social media.

But power was still out in parts of the capital of Caracas and the western region near the border with Colombia.

Maduro blamed Washington for organizing what he said was a sophisticated cyberattack on Venezuela's hydroelectric power operations.

"Donald Trump is most responsible for the cyberattack on the Venezuelan electricity system," Maduro said in a broadcast from the Miraflores presidential palace on Monday night.

"This is a technology that only the government of the United States possesses."

The U.S. State Department had already announced that it would withdraw its remaining diplomatic staff from Venezuela this week.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview on Tuesday with radio show Texas Standard that decisions regarding Venezuela had been affected by the combination of a rapidly deteriorating situation and U.S. diplomats being "in harm's way."

"We wanted to get them out of the country so that we could move forward in a way that provided that opportunity," Pompeo said.

Maduro, elected in 2013 following the death of his political mentor Hugo Chavez, officially broke diplomatic relations with the United States on Jan. 23 when it recognized Guaido. Washington's consulate evacuated most of its diplomatic staff two days later.

The blackout was likely caused by a technical problem with transmission lines linking the Guri hydroelectric plant in southeastern Venezuela to the national power grid, experts told Reuters.

Venezuela's electricity network has suffered from years of underinvestment and lack of maintenance. With the economy in a tailspin, spare parts are scarce, while many skilled technical staff have fled the country amid an exodus of more than three million Venezuelans in three years.

The government suspended schools and business activities on Tuesday for two more days, after doing so on Friday and Monday.

Guaido said he planned to lead national protests over the blackout in Caracas on Tuesday afternoon.

Amid signs of a growing crackdown on media, the National Press Workers' Union said that prominent radio journalist Luis Carlos Diaz was arrested on Monday by intelligence agents, who raided his home in Caracas.</s>Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for alleged sabotage of the country’s power grid, the chief prosecutor has said.

It came as the government sought to pressure an adversary who blames corruption and mismanagement for nearly a week of national blackouts.

The announcement by attorney general Tarek William Saab escalated the confrontation between the government and Mr Guaido even as the US, a key backer of the opposition leader, said it was withdrawing its last diplomats in Caracas.

The US has dismissed Venezuelan government accusations that it triggered the power crisis with a cyber attack.

Mr Guaido is already under investigation for alleged instigation of violence, but authorities have not tried to detain the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly since he violated a travel ban and then returned a week ago from a tour of Latin American countries.

Mr Saab said the case against Mr Guaido also involves messages allegedly inciting people to robbery and looting during power outages.

Information minister Jorge Rodriguez appeared on national television to condemn “Guaido and his gang” for their alleged attempt to cut the power as a way of fomenting chaos and toppling President Nicolas Maduro. Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters during a government rally in Caracas (Ariana Cubillos/AP)

Mr Rodriguez said the power grid had been almost completely restored and water service was also returning. More neighbourhoods of Caracas had power on Tuesday morning, but anecdotal reports indicated continuing outages for many Venezuelans, who were already suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

On Tuesday, long queues converged at springs in the mountains of Caracas to collect water in bottles because water pumps have been failing during the power outages.

Venezuelans usually use debit cards to pay for food and other necessities since hyperinflation has rendered the national currency, the bolivar, nearly worthless, but the cards have not worked because of the blackouts, forcing people to scrounge for scarce cash and search for the few shops that were open.

Schools and many businesses remained closed on Tuesday, and there were widespread reports of looting in the city of Maracaibo. Residents scramble for water from an open pipe above the Guaire River (Fernando Llano/AP)

Adding to tension over Venezuela’s fate, the last US diplomats in Venezuela prepared to head home as relations between Washington and Mr Maduro deteriorated further.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the US, which recognises Mr Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, was withdrawing the remaining diplomats because their continued presence in Caracas had become a “constraint” on US policy as it campaigns to oust Mr Maduro.

“We made the decision yesterday that it just was prudent to get these folks back,” Mr Pompeo added on Tuesday.

“The situation there is deteriorating. The Maduro regime’s horrific leadership over the last years has just made life there so difficult, it began to make it more difficult for the United States to take the actions that it needed to do to support the Venezuelan people. So we concluded this was simply the right step to take and this was the right time to take it.”

The Venezuelan government early on Tuesday disputed Mr Pompeo’s account, saying it had instructed the diplomats to leave within 72 hours.

Their presence “entails risks for the peace, integrity and stability of the country”, foreign minister Jorge Arreaza said.

“These are the same officials that have systematically lied to the world about Venezuela’s reality and personally have directed fake, flag-waving operations to justify an intervention,” he said.

US President Donald Trump has said “all options are on the table” in his administration’s support for Mr Guaido, who says Mr Maduro is an illegitimate leader and must resign so Venezuela can hold elections. Mr Maduro accuses Mr Guaido and the US of plotting an invasion.

The government cut ties with the US in January over its recognition of Mr Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader. US officials said Mr Maduro had no authority to take such a step.

Venezuela later retreated and allowed a skeleton staff to remain at the hilltop US embassy in Caracas as the two countries attempted to negotiate an agreement to allow some sort of representation.</s>In a televised nationwide address, leader says White House ‘ordered this attack’ and calls on public to mount ‘active resistance’

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

The United States has said it will withdraw all remaining diplomatic staff from Venezuela as Nicolás Maduro accused Donald Trump of masterminding a “demonic” plot to force him from power by crippling the country’s electricity system with an imperialist “electromagnetic attack”.

The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced the decision to vacate the US embassy in the crisis-stricken country’s capital, Caracas, late on Monday.

“This decision reflects the deteriorating situation in #Venezuela as well as the conclusion that the presence of US diplomatic staff at the embassy has become a constraint on US policy,” Pompeo tweeted.

Maduro’s political foes and many specialists believe the calamitous nationwide blackout that struck last Thursday – and has yet to be resolved – is the result of years of mismanagement, corruption and incompetence.

“We are in the middle of a catastrophe that is not the result of a hurricane, that is not the result of a tsunami,” Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader battling to topple Maduro, told CNN on Sunday. “It’s the product of the inefficiency, the incapability, the corruption of a regime that doesn’t care about the lives of Venezuelans.”

'A city of shadows': fear as Venezuela's crippling blackout enters day four Read more

But in a televised nationwide address on Monday night Maduro pointed the finger of blame at the White House in what critics condemned as a cynical attempt to deflect criticism of his regime’s responsibility.

“The United States’ imperialist government ordered this attack,” Maduro claimed in his 35-minute speech, only his second significant intervention since the crisis began last week.

“They came with a strategy of war of the kind that only these criminals – who have been to war and have destroyed the people of Iraq, of Libya, of Afghanistan and of Syria – think up.”

Maduro alleged the US had conducted the attack – in league with “puppets and clowns” from the Venezuelan opposition – in order to create “a state of despair, of widespread want and of conflict” that would justify a foreign intervention and Venezuela’s military occupation.

But Maduro, who inherited Hugo Chávez’s Bolivarian revolution after his 2013 death, vowed that the supposed attack on Venezuela’s grid would be thwarted.

“Victory belongs to us,” he declared. “What you can be certain of is that sooner rather later, in the coming days, we will win this battle definitively … We will win - and we will do it for Venezuela. We will do it for our homeland. We will do it for you … we will do it because of our people’s right to happiness.”

Ominously, he called on Venezuelan citizens and on pro-government paramilitary gangs known as colectivos to resist the “imperialist” onslaught. “The time has come for active resistance,” he said.

Maduro has been fighting for political survival since January when Guaidó declared himself Venezuela’s legitimate leader and was swiftly recognised as interim president by dozens of western nations including the US and Britain.

Maduro’s many opponents – who blame him for a devastating economic collapse that has triggered the most severe migration crisis in recent Latin American history – ridicule his claims that the outage is part of a White House conspiracy.

Anna Ferrera, a student activist in Caracas, said: “They go around and around saying this was sabotage and how the US always sabotages things and the empire is going against Venezuela. But they haven’t given any [credible] explanation.”

“They always make up stories to explain the flaws of the system … this is outrageous,” added Ferrera, who said she feared many might accept Maduro’s version because the black out had knocked out communication systems across the country, giving his administration a monopoly on information.

Dimitris Pantoulas, a Caracas-based political analyst, said Maduro had appeared “worried, anxious and absolutely desperate” in his Monday night broadcast, suggesting the situation was dire.

“It is clear, from what he said, that the government does not control the situation (nobody does) and they do not have any plan or strategy,” Pantoulas tweeted.

Maduro – who gave no evidence for his claims – gave little hint that an end was in sight to a crisis that the opposition blames for at least 21 deaths and many fear could plunge the country into violence and turmoil.

“They will insist in their attacks,” Maduro said, calling on Venezuelans to respond with “nerves of steel”.

Speaking to CNN hours earlier, Guaidó said: “Venezuela has truly collapsed already … You can say with all responsibility that Venezuela has already collapsed.”</s>Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for alleged sabotage of the country’s power grid, the chief prosecutor has said.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for alleged sabotage of the country’s power grid, the chief prosecutor has said.

It came as the government sought to pressure an adversary who blames corruption and mismanagement for nearly a week of national blackouts.

The announcement by attorney general Tarek William Saab escalated the confrontation between the government and Mr Guaido even as the US, a key backer of the opposition leader, said it was withdrawing its last diplomats in Caracas.

The US has dismissed Venezuelan government accusations that it triggered the power crisis with a cyber attack.

Mr Guaido is already under investigation for alleged instigation of violence, but authorities have not tried to detain the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly since he violated a travel ban and then returned a week ago from a tour of Latin American countries.

Mr Saab said the case against Mr Guaido also involves messages allegedly inciting people to robbery and looting during power outages.

Information minister Jorge Rodriguez appeared on national television to condemn “Guaido and his gang” for their alleged attempt to cut the power as a way of fomenting chaos and toppling President Nicolas Maduro.

Mr Rodriguez said the power grid had been almost completely restored and water service was also returning. More neighbourhoods of Caracas had power on Tuesday morning, but anecdotal reports indicated continuing outages for many Venezuelans, who were already suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

On Tuesday, long queues converged at springs in the mountains of Caracas to collect water in bottles because water pumps have been failing during the power outages.

Venezuelans usually use debit cards to pay for food and other necessities since hyperinflation has rendered the national currency, the bolivar, nearly worthless, but the cards have not worked because of the blackouts, forcing people to scrounge for scarce cash and search for the few shops that were open.

Schools and many businesses remained closed on Tuesday, and there were widespread reports of looting in the city of Maracaibo.

Adding to tension over Venezuela’s fate, the last US diplomats in Venezuela prepared to head home as relations between Washington and Mr Maduro deteriorated further.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the US, which recognises Mr Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, was withdrawing the remaining diplomats because their continued presence in Caracas had become a “constraint” on US policy as it campaigns to oust Mr Maduro.

“We made the decision yesterday that it just was prudent to get these folks back,” Mr Pompeo added on Tuesday.

“The situation there is deteriorating. The Maduro regime’s horrific leadership over the last years has just made life there so difficult, it began to make it more difficult for the United States to take the actions that it needed to do to support the Venezuelan people. So we concluded this was simply the right step to take and this was the right time to take it.”

The Venezuelan government early on Tuesday disputed Mr Pompeo’s account, saying it had instructed the diplomats to leave within 72 hours.

Their presence “entails risks for the peace, integrity and stability of the country”, foreign minister Jorge Arreaza said.

“These are the same officials that have systematically lied to the world about Venezuela’s reality and personally have directed fake, flag-waving operations to justify an intervention,” he said.

US President Donald Trump has said “all options are on the table” in his administration’s support for Mr Guaido, who says Mr Maduro is an illegitimate leader and must resign so Venezuela can hold elections. Mr Maduro accuses Mr Guaido and the US of plotting an invasion.

The government cut ties with the US in January over its recognition of Mr Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader. US officials said Mr Maduro had no authority to take such a step.

Venezuela later retreated and allowed a skeleton staff to remain at the hilltop US embassy in Caracas as the two countries attempted to negotiate an agreement to allow some sort of representation.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for the alleged sabotage of the country’s power grid, the chief prosecutor said Tuesday, as the government sought to pressure an adversary who blames corruption and mismanagement for nearly a week of national blackouts.

The announcement by Tarek William Saab, Venezuela’s attorney general, escalated the confrontation between the government and Guaido even as the United States, a key backer of the opposition leader, said it was withdrawing its last diplomats in Caracas. The U.S. has dismissed Venezuelan government accusations that it triggered the power crisis with a “cyberattack.”

Guaido is already under investigation for alleged instigation of violence, but authorities have not tried to detain the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly since he violated a travel ban and then returned a week ago from a tour of Latin American countries.

Saab said the case against Guaido also involves messages allegedly inciting people to robbery and looting during power outages. Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez appeared on national television to condemn “Guaido and his gang” for their alleged attempt to cut the power as a way of fomenting chaos and toppling President Nicolas Maduro.

Rodriguez said the power grid had been almost completely restored and that water service was also returning. More neighbourhoods of Caracas had power on Tuesday morning. But anecdotal reports indicated continuing outages for many Venezuelans, who were already suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

On Tuesday, long lines of people converged at springs in the mountains of Caracas to collect water in bottles because water pumps have been failing during the power outages. Venezuelans usually use debit cards to pay for food and other necessities since hyperinflation has rendered the national currency, the bolivar, nearly worthless. But the cards haven’t worked because of the blackouts, forcing people to scrounge for scarce cash and search for the few shops that were open.

Schools and many businesses remained closed on Tuesday. There were widespread reports of looting on Monday in the city of Maracaibo.

Adding to tension over Venezuela’s fate, the last U.S. diplomats in Venezuela prepared to head home as relations between the United States and Maduro deteriorated further.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted late Monday that the U.S., which recognizes Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, was withdrawing the remaining diplomats because their continued presence in Caracas had become a “constraint” on U.S. policy as it campaigns to oust Maduro.

“We made the decision yesterday that it just was prudent to get these folks back,” Pompeo said Tuesday in an interview with KTRH, a Houston radio station.

“The situation there is deteriorating,” he said. “The Maduro regime’s horrific leadership over the last years has just made life there so difficult, it began to make it more difficult for the United States to take the actions that it needed to do to support the Venezuelan people. So we concluded this was simply the right step to take and this was the right time to take it.”
• Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido appeals for help in Ottawa via video
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The Venezuelan government early Tuesday disputed Pompeo’s account, saying it had instructed the diplomats to leave within 72 hours. Their presence “entails risks for the peace, integrity and stability of the country,” Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said.

“These are the same officials that have systematically lied to the world about Venezuela’s reality and personally have directed fake, flag-waving operations to justify an intervention,” he said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said “all options are on the table” in his administration’s support for Guaido, who says Maduro is an illegitimate leader and must resign so that Venezuela can hold elections. Maduro accuses Guaido and the United States of plotting an invasion.

Maduro’s government in January cut ties with the U.S. over its recognition of Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader. U.S. officials rejected that on the rationale that Maduro had no authority to take such a step.

Venezuela later retreated and allowed a skeletal staff to remain at the hilltop U.S. Embassy in Caracas as the two countries attempted — in vain — to negotiate an agreement to allow some sort of representation.
The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces that the U.S. will be withdrawing all remaining diplomatic staff from Venezuela. The withdrawal follows televised remarks from Nicolás Maduro calling colectivos (paramilitary groups) to active resistance, and alleging that U.S. President Donald Trump masterminded the ongoing nationwide power blackout as part of a "demonic plot" to oust him, by crippling the country's electricity sector with an "electromagnetic attack".