Venezuelans protest blackouts, water crisis

Bloomberg

Venezuelans poured into the streets, demonstrating against a near-total breakdown in public services and rallying behind National Assembly leader Juan Guaido, who is leading a drive to end two decades of socialist rule.
The protests come after a month of rolling blackouts that have paralysed daily life and dried the water taps in huge swaths of this oil-rich nation. Guaido, who is recognised by the US and some 50 other nations as the interim president, called for demonstrations in major Venezuelan cities against the latest miseries suffered under the six-year rule of President Nicolas Maduro.
“They thought we were going to get used to blackouts, to a lack of water, to our families leaving,” Guaido said during a speech to demonstrators in the capital of Caracas. “We’re never going to get used to this.”
Guaido said that two opposition lawmakers, Nora Bracho and Renzo Prieto, were detained during demonstrations in the northwestern city of Maracaibo. He said later that they had been released. El Nacional also reported the legislators’ later release.
Venezuela has been reeling from hyperinflation, hunger and months of political unrest. Power cuts and water shortages have driven thousands of residents nationwide to take to the streets to demand services be restored.