Venezuela limps back to normal as power restored

Electricity has been restored in all of Caracas and several other regions of Venezuela after a major blackout, the government said yesterday.The outage that began Monday afternoon triggered gridlock in the capital as traffic lights went dark.Sidewalks teemed with pedestrians walking home after the metro stopped running.The government blamed sabotage, saying a hydroelectric plant that provides 80% of the country’s power had been hit by an “electromagnetic attack.”A nationwide blackout in March lasted a week, accentuating the woes of people in an oil-rich country that now has shortages of food and medicine and such basics as toilet paper and soap.This time, the lights went out in a dozen hospitals, telephone service was knocked out and faucets ran dry, according to a consumer rights group called the Public Services Observatory.Stores closed Monday night as the lack of electricity prevented the use of credit and debit cards.They are essential because cash is scarce in inflation-plagued Venezuela.“I’m hungry, I want to eat, but there is nowhere to use my debit card,” said Hernan Montalvo, complaining of not having enough cash to buy a hot dog.“I’m outraged,” Eurimar Guere, 36, said after leaving her office in eastern Caracas.“Necessary repairs weren’t carried out and it’s more of the same.”