Video provided by Reuters

Thousands of activists have gathered across Venezuela to protest against a nationwide blackout, shortages of basic necessities and the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

As Venezuelan opposition protesters converged on a main avenue in Caracas and other parts of the country, supporters of Mr Maduro also held a rival demonstration that also drew a mass of people.

The rival demonstration saw people protesting against the US and its “brutal aggression” against the South American country.

Both rallies illustrated the ever-growing gulf between two factions now struggling for control of a nation paralysed by economic and political turmoil.

© Provided by Independent Digital News & Media Limited Supporters of acting president Juan Guaido demonstrate in Caracas (AFP/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, tensions were only compounded further by a new power shutdown that came just hours after an earlier blackout in the country appeared to be coming to an end.

Jorge Jaimes, a doctor who joined opposition protesters on Avenida Victoria in Caracas, said: "This is chaos. We are at the end of this road."

Opposition demonstrators earlier on Saturday pushed against the shields of riot police, who withdrew from the area but maintained a large presence.

© Provided by Independent Digital News & Media Limited Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed acting president Juan Guaido (AFP/Getty Images)

Some protesters elsewhere in the city said lines of police were blocking them from reaching the rally organised by opposition leader Juan Guaido, creating a sense of confusion as power and communications outages plagued the country.

Netblocks, a non-government group based in Europe that monitors internet censorship, said on Saturday a second outage had knocked out almost all of Venezuela's telecommunications infrastructure.

Earlier, it referred to online connectivity data indicating the initial outage that began on Thursday and eased about 24 hours later was the largest on recent record in Latin America.

Managers of the Caracas subway said they are still waiting for the electricity supply to stabilise before resuming services, but the power grid problems quickly became another issue that galvanised Venezuelans to take to the streets.

© Provided by Independent Digital News & Media Limited Supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (REUTERS)

As the opposition-led rally got under way , police units and members of the National Guard were deployed at several intersections, wearing helmets and carrying shields and other anti-riot gear. Several columns of security forces moved on motorcycles.

Opposition activists said police had dismantled a speakers' stage that had been erected in the street ahead of the demonstration on Saturday, while Mr Guaido tweeted that authorities would fail in any attempt to scare protesters.

"Today we'll show them in the streets," he said.

Meanwhile, demonstrators at the pro-Maduro rally danced and waved flags on what organisers labelled a "day of anti-imperialism" in a show of defiance towards the United States, which has imposed oil sanctions on Venezuela in an attempt to oust the president.

Many showed up wearing red caps and shirts in support of the self-proclaimed "socialist revolution" of leader Hugo Chavez, who died six years ago and was succeeded by his protege, Mr Maduro.

Mr Maduro, who maintains that Mr Guaido is part of a US-backed plot to oust him, tweeted on Saturday that "each act of imperialist aggression will meet an overwhelming response".

© Provided by Independent Digital News & Media Limited Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (AFP/Getty Images)

In the last two days, Venezuelan government officials have blamed the United States for the nationwide blackout and said Mr Guaido collaborated in the alleged sabotage.

Mr Guaido and US officials scoff at that notion, attributing the blackout to alleged corruption and mismanagement under Mr Maduro's government.

The United States and about 50 other countries support Mr Guaido, 35, who has been unable to wrest power from Mr Maduro.

Mr Guaido, the leader of Venezuela's National Assembly, declared himself interim president of the country in late January.

Pictures: Venezuela crisis</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There are no signs that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is open to negotiations to end the political impasse with opposition leader Juan Guaido, Washington’s envoy for Venezuela said.

Elliott Abrams, who served in the administrations of both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, said any negotiated solution would need to be reached among Venezuelans, and that the United States could help by lifting or easing U.S. sanctions and travel restrictions once Maduro agreed to go.

Abrams, however, played down any possibility that the Venezuelan president was ready to talk about his exit. “From everything we have seen, Maduro’s tactic is to stay put,” Abrams said in an interview on Friday.

Some 56 countries have recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim head of state, but Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China as well as control of state institutions including the military.

Abrams has met with Russian representatives to the United States about Moscow’s support for Maduro. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month, after a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that Moscow was ready to take part in bilateral talks on Venezuela.

“The Russians are not happy with Maduro for all the obvious reasons,” Abrams said. “In a couple of conversations I have been told they have given advice to Maduro and he doesn’t take it.”

“They continue to support him and there is no indication that I have seen that they are telling him it’s time to bring this to an end,” he said, adding: “There could come a point where the Russians reach a conclusion that the regime is really unsalvageable.”

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Washington has called on foreign banks to ensure that Maduro and Venezuelan government officials are not hiding financial assets abroad. John Bolton, the U.S. national security advisor, last week threatened to impose sanctions against any financial institution that help Maduro.

“We are not going to get any cooperation on this from Russian banks, but I think every step we take makes it harder for the regime to steal money,” Abrams said.

Moscow is owed $3.1 billion in sovereign debt by Venezuela and acted as a lender of last resort for Caracas, with the government and Russian oil giant, Rosneft, handing Venezuela at least $17 billion in loans and credit lines since 2006.

Abrams said he had not yet spoken to Chinese government officials about Beijing’s support for Maduro, blaming scheduling issues. “We will do it,” Abrams said.

Referring to Cuba, the U.S. envoy described it as “a parasite that has been feeding off Venezuela for decades” by taking its oil while offering intelligence and other protections for Maduro.

“There are thousands of Cuban officers, and literally, physically, around him. In some ways they are the key advisors to Maduro,” Abrams said of Havana’s role.

Communist-run Cuba has been a key backer of the Venezuelan socialist government since the Bolivarian Revolution that began under former leader Hugo Chavez in 1998.

Cuba has denied it has security forces in Venezuela and said statements like Abrams’ were part of a campaign of lies aimed at paving the way for U.S. military intervention in the South American country.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There are no signs that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is open to negotiations to end the political impasse with opposition leader Juan Guaido, Washington’s envoy for Venezuela said.

Elliott Abrams, who served in the administrations of both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, said any negotiated solution would need to be reached among Venezuelans, and that the United States could help by lifting or easing U.S. sanctions and travel restrictions once Maduro agreed to go.

Abrams, however, played down any possibility that the Venezuelan president was ready to talk about his exit. “From everything we have seen, Maduro’s tactic is to stay put,” Abrams said in an interview on Friday.

Some 56 countries have recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim head of state, but Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China as well as control of state institutions including the military.

Abrams has met with Russian representatives to the United States about Moscow’s support for Maduro. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month, after a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that Moscow was ready to take part in bilateral talks on Venezuela.

“The Russians are not happy with Maduro for all the obvious reasons,” Abrams said. “In a couple of conversations I have been told they have given advice to Maduro and he doesn’t take it.”

“They continue to support him and there is no indication that I have seen that they are telling him it’s time to bring this to an end,” he said, adding: “There could come a point where the Russians reach a conclusion that the regime is really unsalvageable.”

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Washington has called on foreign banks to ensure that Maduro and Venezuelan government officials are not hiding financial assets abroad. John Bolton, the U.S. national security advisor, last week threatened to impose sanctions against any financial institution that help Maduro.

“We are not going to get any cooperation on this from Russian banks, but I think every step we take makes it harder for the regime to steal money,” Abrams said.

Moscow is owed $3.1 billion in sovereign debt by Venezuela and acted as a lender of last resort for Caracas, with the government and Russian oil giant, Rosneft, handing Venezuela at least $17 billion in loans and credit lines since 2006.

Abrams said he had not yet spoken to Chinese government officials about Beijing’s support for Maduro, blaming scheduling issues. “We will do it,” Abrams said.

Referring to Cuba, the U.S. envoy described it as “a parasite that has been feeding off Venezuela for decades” by taking its oil while offering intelligence and other protections for Maduro.

“There are thousands of Cuban officers, and literally, physically, around him. In some ways they are the key advisors to Maduro,” Abrams said of Havana’s role.

Communist-run Cuba has been a key backer of the Venezuelan socialist government since the Bolivarian Revolution that began under former leader Hugo Chavez in 1998.

Cuba has denied it has security forces in Venezuela and said statements like Abrams’ were part of a campaign of lies aimed at paving the way for U.S. military intervention in the South American country.</s>More blackouts hit Venezuela as opposition, government rally

Opposition protesters confront police in Caracas while venting their anger over a blackout and shortages of basic necessities. Opposition protesters confront police in Caracas while venting their anger over a blackout and shortages of basic necessities. Photo: Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press Photo: Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close More blackouts hit Venezuela as opposition, government rally 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

CARACAS, Venezuela — The Venezuelan opposition and government loyalists held rival demonstrations in Caracas on Saturday, as both sides prepared for what some fear could be a protracted power struggle.

The rallies unfolded as power and communications failures continued to hit Venezuela, intensifying the hardship of a country paralyzed by economic and political crisis. The blackouts heightened tension between the bitterly divided factions, which accused each other of being responsible for the collapse of the power grid.

“Hard times are ahead,” said opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who addressed crowds with a loudspeaker after security forces earlier dismantled a speakers’ stage that the opposition had erected. He said he planned to tour Venezuela to seek support and lay the groundwork for a massive rally in Caracas.

The 35-year-old leader of the National Assembly said he anticipated more government efforts to sideline and intimidate the opposition. However, President Nicolás Maduro’s government has not moved directly against Guaidó since he returned to Venezuela from a Latin American tour Monday.

Guaidó earlier speculated that Maduro was effectively ignoring him in an attempt to sap the energy of the opposition, whose hopes of ousting the government have so far been stymied.

But on Saturday, Maduro stepped up verbal attacks on Guaidó, calling him “a clown and puppet” in a speech to supporters outside Miraflores, the presidential palace. He scoffed at Guaidó’s claim in late January to be interim president of Venezuela, a declaration supported by the United States and about 50 other countries.

“Not a president, not anything,” said Maduro, who accused Guaidó and his U.S. allies of sabotaging Venezuela’s Guri Dam, one of the world’s largest hydroelectric stations and the cornerstone of Venezuela’s electrical grid.

He said authorities had restored 70 percent of power in Venezuela since what he called an “international cyberattack” late Thursday, but progress was lost on Saturday when “infiltrators” allegedly struck again.

The Venezuelan opposition and U.S. officials say Maduro’s attempts to pin blame on his political adversaries is absurd, and that government corruption and mismanagement over many years caused the blackout and wider deterioration of the economy.

In another blow to Venezuela’s infrastructure, an explosion occurred at a power station in the country’s Bolivar state on Saturday, according to local media. Video posted on social media showed fire and smoke billowing from the site. Venezuelan authorities have not commented.

Christopher Torchia is an Associated Press writer.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There are no signs that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is open to negotiations to end the political impasse with opposition leader Juan Guaido, Washington’s envoy for Venezuela said.

Elliott Abrams, who served in the administrations of both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, said any negotiated solution would need to be reached among Venezuelans, and that the United States could help by lifting or easing U.S. sanctions and travel restrictions once Maduro agreed to go.

Abrams, however, played down any possibility that the Venezuelan president was ready to talk about his exit. “From everything we have seen, Maduro’s tactic is to stay put,” Abrams said in an interview on Friday.

Some 56 countries have recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim head of state, but Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China as well as control of state institutions including the military.

Abrams has met with Russian representatives to the United States about Moscow’s support for Maduro. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month, after a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that Moscow was ready to take part in bilateral talks on Venezuela.

“The Russians are not happy with Maduro for all the obvious reasons,” Abrams said. “In a couple of conversations I have been told they have given advice to Maduro and he doesn’t take it.”

“They continue to support him and there is no indication that I have seen that they are telling him it’s time to bring this to an end,” he said, adding: “There could come a point where the Russians reach a conclusion that the regime is really unsalvageable.”

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Washington has called on foreign banks to ensure that Maduro and Venezuelan government officials are not hiding financial assets abroad. John Bolton, the U.S. national security advisor, last week threatened to impose sanctions against any financial institution that help Maduro.

“We are not going to get any cooperation on this from Russian banks, but I think every step we take makes it harder for the regime to steal money,” Abrams said.

Moscow is owed $3.1 billion in sovereign debt by Venezuela and acted as a lender of last resort for Caracas, with the government and Russian oil giant, Rosneft, handing Venezuela at least $17 billion in loans and credit lines since 2006.

Abrams said he had not yet spoken to Chinese government officials about Beijing’s support for Maduro, blaming scheduling issues. “We will do it,” Abrams said.

Referring to Cuba, the U.S. envoy described it as “a parasite that has been feeding off Venezuela for decades” by taking its oil while offering intelligence and other protections for Maduro.

“There are thousands of Cuban officers, and literally, physically, around him. In some ways they are the key advisors to Maduro,” Abrams said of Havana’s role.

Communist-run Cuba has been a key backer of the Venezuelan socialist government since the Bolivarian Revolution that began under former leader Hugo Chavez in 1998.

Cuba has denied it has security forces in Venezuela and said statements like Abrams’ were part of a campaign of lies aimed at paving the way for U.S. military intervention in the South American country.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There are no signs that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is open to negotiations to end the political impasse with opposition leader Juan Guaido, Washington’s envoy for Venezuela said.

Elliott Abrams, who served in the administrations of both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, said any negotiated solution would need to be reached among Venezuelans, and that the United States could help by lifting or easing U.S. sanctions and travel restrictions once Maduro agreed to go.

Abrams, however, played down any possibility that the Venezuelan president was ready to talk about his exit. “From everything we have seen, Maduro’s tactic is to stay put,” Abrams said in an interview on Friday.

Some 56 countries have recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim head of state, but Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China as well as control of state institutions including the military.

Abrams has met with Russian representatives to the United States about Moscow’s support for Maduro. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month, after a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that Moscow was ready to take part in bilateral talks on Venezuela.

“The Russians are not happy with Maduro for all the obvious reasons,” Abrams said. “In a couple of conversations I have been told they have given advice to Maduro and he doesn’t take it.”

“They continue to support him and there is no indication that I have seen that they are telling him it’s time to bring this to an end,” he said, adding: “There could come a point where the Russians reach a conclusion that the regime is really unsalvageable.”

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Washington has called on foreign banks to ensure that Maduro and Venezuelan government officials are not hiding financial assets abroad. John Bolton, the U.S. national security advisor, last week threatened to impose sanctions against any financial institution that help Maduro.

“We are not going to get any cooperation on this from Russian banks, but I think every step we take makes it harder for the regime to steal money,” Abrams said.

Moscow is owed $3.1 billion in sovereign debt by Venezuela and acted as a lender of last resort for Caracas, with the government and Russian oil giant, Rosneft, handing Venezuela at least $17 billion in loans and credit lines since 2006.

Abrams said he had not yet spoken to Chinese government officials about Beijing’s support for Maduro, blaming scheduling issues. “We will do it,” Abrams said.

Referring to Cuba, the U.S. envoy described it as “a parasite that has been feeding off Venezuela for decades” by taking its oil while offering intelligence and other protections for Maduro.

“There are thousands of Cuban officers, and literally, physically, around him. In some ways they are the key advisors to Maduro,” Abrams said of Havana’s role.

Communist-run Cuba has been a key backer of the Venezuelan socialist government since the Bolivarian Revolution that began under former leader Hugo Chavez in 1998.

Cuba has denied it has security forces in Venezuela and said statements like Abrams’ were part of a campaign of lies aimed at paving the way for U.S. military intervention in the South American country.</s>Amid power outages around Venezuela that have continued since last Thursday, Chavista and opposition marches illustrated the country's ongoing crisis.

The demonstrations in Caracas were led by President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, both of whom saw the electricity failures as yet further proof that their opponents are the reason the situation in Venezuela gets worse every day.

Maduro said this Saturday that a new "cyberattack" had caused more power outages, after the situation had seemed to be under control following the previous outage at 5:00 pm last Thursday.

"We have been hit by a new international cyberattack" that has "knocked out the reconnection process," Maduro told his supporters at the Miraflores presidential palace.

Maduro was addressing the hundreds of people who had just taken part in Saturday's ruling party march in Caracas against "imperialism" and its "sabotage" of the electric system.

"On this occasion we found they were carrying out highly scientific, high technology attacks - electromagnetic attacks against electricity transmission lines," the president said.

According to Maduro, the attack was executed using "technology at a level only possessed by the United States government."

A breakdown of the country's main hydroelectric power plant at Guri left all Venezuela without electricity last Thursday, amid the Maduro government's complaints of "sabotage."

The electric service was gradually restored in some areas by this Saturday morning, but around 12:00 pm there was another widespread power failure, about which the Maduro administration offered no explanation.

At the same time, the speaker of the Venezuelan legislature, Juan Guaido, recognized by some 50 countries as the acting president of Venezuela, told his followers after their march in Caracas that Maduro was responsible for the crisis in the electricity sector.

He said the power outage in some parts of the country has continued for 48 hours, and that 16 states were still without electricity.

Some reports said that several states, where power had been reestablished after more than 30 hours without electricity, suffered another outage around 12:00 pm this Saturday.

Starting on Friday, the service had gradually been restored in the eastern and central states of Venezuela, though more than half the country has gone 48 straight hours without electricity.

"It's hard to say we're doing well when children die in our hospitals (for lack of electricity), and when our indigenous people are being massacred. We know what a crisis we're in and for that reason we have to keep fighting," Guaido said.

He also warned that if the power outages continue, Venezuela could suffer a gasoline crisis.

But Maduro said the "attack" against the electric system was the work of the local opposition.

The Chavista leader also said that the Venezuelan electric industry, a public facility for years, must be liberated from "saboteurs trying to overthrow the government" and that new "imperialist attacks" must be prevented, a reference to the presumed aggression led by the United States.

Guaido, meanwhile, announced this Saturday that he will be taking a tour of the country and organizaing a giant rally in Caracas to assert his possession of the power held since 2013 by Maduro.

"Let all Venezuela come to Caracas, because we need everyone united. At this time I announce my tour of all Venezuela to bring everyone to Caracas to achieve our goal," he told a gathering of followers in the southwestern part of the capital.

He promised to announce the date and time of his visits to the more than 20 federal states of Venezuela just hours before his arrival, to avoid the roads getting "jammed."

"That's when we will announce the date when we will all come together in Caracas to make use of our chance (to take power)," he said to the cries of thousands of people urging him to take over the Miraflores presidential palace.

Earlier in the day, an anti-riot squad tried to scatter the demonstrators with tear gas and cordons that impeded them from reaching Victoria Avenue, scene of this Saturday's rally.

Guaido had to use a megaphone to address the thousands of people who had remained since the early hours at the rally area, after protesters weren't allowed to install the platform from which he was to give his speech.

EFE observed that at least 200 members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) blocked access to the Francisco Fajardo Motorway, which connects the east and west of the capital, and kept the crowds from two other demonstrations from making even larger the one led by the opposition leader.

The militarized police also deployed 12 armored cars which, however, were not used to repress the demonstration.

Venezuela has been going through a time of severe political tension since last January, when Guaido cited certain articles of the Venezuelan Constitution to claim the authority to declare himself interim president of the nation, on grounds that Maduro had "usurped" the presidency.

The Chavista leader first took office in 2013 and was reelected last May in a controversial election that the opposition boycotted because it did not trust the honesty of Venezuela's current electoral system, with the result that the legitimacy of Maduro's second term is not recognized either by anti-Chavismo or by much of the international community.</s>
• A month after two people died and 300 were injured in clashes at the Colombia-Venezuela border, a report from The New York Times suggests that a protester was likely behind an aid truck that caught on fire, not Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s troops, who US officials had thought were behind the incident.
• The report cites new footage of the event showing a protester throwing a Molotov cocktail minutes beforehand at a truck.
• US officials didn’t name Maduro in a statement but said he was responsible for “creating the conditions for violence.”

Last month, an US-backed effort to break Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro’s block on convoys at the border of Venezuela-Colombia and deliver foreign aid resulted on two people dead and another 300 injured.

The US government said that Maduro supporters were believed to be behind the chaos but a new report and video evidence from the New York Times suggests that a protester was seemingly responsible.

Unpublished footage reviewed by the New York Times looked at in conjunction with existing footage implies that an “antigovernment protester was the most likely trigger for the blaze.” The footage shows the same protester in a different video hitting a truck with a Molotov cocktail minutes before.

Read more: Venezuelan border clash leaves 2 dead and 300 injured as troops shower protesters with tear gas and aid supplies are set ablaze

Here’s a video that shows some of the footage:

Maduro’s handling of the economy has led to chaos in the country and caused three million people to leave in recent years.

In addition to questions about the protester, Maduro’s critics say that he ordered medication to be set on fire, but the videos do not show evidence about the claim.

“Eyewitness accounts indicate that the fire started when Maduro’s forces violently blocked the entry of humanitarian assistance,” American officials said in a statement after being contacted by the Times.

The officials still held Maduro responsible for “creating the conditions for violence,” said Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

He added, “His thugs denied the entry of tons of food and medicine, while thousands of courageous volunteers sought to safeguard and deliver aid to Venezuelan families.”

Nearly 50 nations recognize Maduro’s rival, opposition leader Juan Guaido, as the nation’s rightful president. He has been calling for international aid to be allowed into the country, but Maduro’s soldiers have been ordered to stop shipments in because he says they are part of a coup to overthrow him.</s>Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said one of his country’s eclectic facilities was subjected by high-tech cyber attacks on Saturday.

Speaking in an anti-imperialist rally in capital Caracas, Maduro said the attack was committed by using “high-tech” weapons that "only the U.S. government has in the world".

"Today we have restored power supply in 70 percent of the country’s territory, but at noon, another cyber-attack was committed against one of the facilities, which until then worked perfectly. For this reason, all the progress we had achieved by mid-afternoon was interrupted," he added.

He stated the spies inside Venezuela's national electricity firm are behind the power outage and vowed to identify and punish them as soon as possible.

"These attacks were carried out with the use of high scientific achievements, there were electromagnetic attacks against national electric lines."

Accusing the U.S. of the blackout, Maduro described the U.S. backed opposition leader, Juan Guaido as "clown" and "puppet".

Venezuela has been suffering a major power cut since Thursday leaving 21 out of 23 states of Venezuela in dark.

The outage was previously termed as a "sabotage". Local media outlet El Pitazo reported the outage appeared to be the result of a failure at the Simon Bolivar hydroelectric plant also known as the Guri Dam in the southern state of Bolivar.

The Guri Dam is one of the world's largest hydroelectric stations and the main power supply to Venezuela's electrical grid.

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 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.</s>Venezuela: Power cuts - not power struggle - could see off Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela: Power cuts - not power struggle - could see off Nicolas Maduro

After two days of power cuts that have forced shops to close, created huge queues for fuel in a country with the largest known oil reserves in the world, brought even more mayhem and death to hospitals, and has now ensured the much feared National Guard are constantly on the streets, it is perhaps unsurprising there was considerable trepidation over what would happen at the latest pro-opposition rally in Caracas.

For the first time in weeks, the government decided to change tack and attempt to disrupt the rally, not with force, but with an overwhelming security services presence designed to intimidate and snuff out the mass movement of people across the capital.

They literally flooded the main arteries of Caracas with national police, military, intelligence officers and every piece of hardware at their disposal.

If anyone doubts the sheer might of the security services in Venezuela, they wouldn't after what we saw today.

On one of the main highways we were greeted by a fairly standard National Police road block. But the officers were backed up by a row of water cannon wagons, a series of armoured cars mounted with tear gas firing tubes, then a string of troop carrying lorries filled with National Guard in full riot gear and finally a contingent of military intelligence.

This was just one unit, on one bit of road, and there was much more of the same across town.

There were rallies in Caracas for the opposition leader, Juan Guaido, and sitting president Nicolas Maduro.

We filmed tens of thousands attempting to cross from the opposition supporting east of the city to the generally Maduro-supporting west. But quickly it became clear that wasn't going happen.

National Guard blocked all the routes linking the two parts of the city. Trucks known as "vampires", with huge metal sheets that extend sideways, closed the roads; supported by dismounted armour clad guardsmen, it was clear the way was blocked.

Disgruntled and a little confused, the crowds were stopped from trying to push past the guards by roving opposition politicians. They are trying to maintain an absolute no violence policy.

That policy keeps people safe, but many in the opposition are beginning to agitate for more direct action, more violent protest. Some, in fact a growing number, believe that they are losing momentum and need to step things up.

On motorbikes we tried to make better progress, but time and again we were blocked from crossing town until we found a short cut through the grounds of a hospital.

Finally we made it to the west. Tens of thousands had made it to the Guaido rally point.

As we emerged from a side street, I could see him addressing the crowd from the roof of a car using a megaphone.

The men who had been building his usual stage had been arrested in the early hours of the morning.

Nobody could really hear him. But his actions spoke louder than words. He beat his heart with his hand and fist clenched, pumped the air. People around me cheered and cried.

The problem for the opposition is that despite all this emotion and jubilation, Maduro remains in absolute control here.

The government is determined and his supporters who attended a rally today are equally confident that there will be no change here. The "tough it out" strategy could probably work forever, if everything in life remained equal.

For the past two days there have been country-wide power blackouts. The government says, without offering evidence, that power turbines have been sabotaged. I have yet to meet a person who doesn't think it is anything but incompetence, poor infrastructure investment and corruption.

What it has brought is chaos and anger.

Ironically, it may not be a political power struggle that damages Maduro, but a more mundane and potentially more dangerous power cut.
With a fire causing new damage to a power plant in Bolívar State, President Nicolás Maduro states the power outages are "caused by U.S.-backed sabotage"; Guaidó says the outages are due to Maduro government "corruption and mismanagement".