From the large-scale blackout in Venezuela, what can be inferred about U.S. attack methods?

Blackout Incident On the 9th, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated in Caracas that the country’s power system had again come under attack that day, severely hampering restoration of electricity supply. Speaking at a rally, Maduro said that by the morning of the 9th, about 70% of national electricity supply had been restored—but shortly afterward, the power system suffered another attack, triggering yet another widespread blackout. During restoration efforts on the 8th, authorities discovered the power system had been subjected to electromagnetic attacks employing "high-tech means." Maduro stated that the repeated attacks against Venezuela’s power system aimed to provoke political and social instability. He urged citizens to remain calm and affirmed the government would do everything possible to ensure food supplies, water, and medical services. He added that power system personnel were carrying out “cautious and meticulous” work to guarantee supply stability. Around 5 p.m. on the 7th, blackouts began across multiple regions—including Caracas. By around 7 p.m. on the 8th, parts of Caracas gradually resumed power. Yet around noon on the 9th, Caracas and most of the country experienced another blackout. As of the evening of the 9th, electricity and telecommunications networks remained incompletely restored. Reports indicate the widespread blackout beginning on the 7th affected 18 of Venezuela’s 23 states—the longest-lasting and geographically broadest such incident since 2012. Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Jorge Rodríguez attributed the outage to deliberate sabotage of the Guri Hydroelectric Plant by opposition forces. Over 60% of Venezuela’s electricity supply comes from hydropower—most of it generated by the Guri Hydroelectric Plant. On January 23, Juan Guaidó—the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly and leader of the opposition—declared himself “interim president,” a move promptly recognized by the U.S. government. The United States subsequently intensified sanctions against Venezuela and openly stated it did not rule out military intervention. President Maduro’s specific statements regarding the United States are summarized as follows: Nicolás Maduro stated that Venezuela’s power system had become the latest target of a “cyberattack.” The Venezuelan government accused the United States of “deliberate sabotage,” while U.S. officials blamed domestic corruption and mismanagement for the blackout. Maduro said: “We suffered another attack at noon… disrupting the process of reconnection (to the grid); all systems were down before noon.” He added: “We found they (the U.S.) carried out high-tech attacks on the power system.” He further noted that “a well-functioning power generation facility” had also been damaged and accused “domestic infiltrators” of launching internal attacks against the power company. Venezuelan authorities are currently attempting to repair these systems manually while simultaneously working to “diagnose why the computerized systems failed so catastrophically.” Incident Analysis The above summarizes recent events in Venezuela. It is evident that, regarding oil, the United States has never shown mercy toward its target countries—imposing sanctions at the slightest provocation, as seen with Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Of course, launching full-scale military operations nowadays requires justification; so what’s the alternative? First, cripple your power grid. The chart below shows the electricity load trend during Venezuela’s three blackouts over these three days.

What happened at Venezuelan power plants?

At approximately 3 p.m. Beijing time on January 3 (i.e., early morning of the 3rd local time in Venezuela), the United States launched a large-scale assault on Venezuela and arrested President Maduro and his wife—an announcement that immediately dominated global media headlines. As professionals in the power sector, many of us know relatively little about Venezuela—yet everyone has heard of the Venezuelan blackout. Due to historical reasons, China has invested heavily in Venezuela, including in power infrastructure, highways, and petrochemical industries. As China’s all-weather strategic partner, Venezuela is also China’s largest crude oil supplier, and bilateral cooperation in the power sector is extensive. Although Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, living standards there remain relatively high. During years of high oil prices, the Venezuelan government distributed cash and housing—and reportedly even offered free gasoline. Caracas once crowned more Miss Universe winners than any other city worldwide. However, excessive welfare fostered complacency and inertia, ultimately stalling national development. Today, Venezuela must import most essential goods—even petroleum products, which are exchanged abroad as raw crude oil. This Venezuelan incident is highly likely linked to oil—after all, “he who holds a jade disc invites trouble”; all other justifications are merely pretexts. Yesterday afternoon’s assault employed conventional tactics: first disabling power infrastructure to trigger a massive blackout in Caracas, thereby paralyzing the entire city, then striking directly at key targets. Despite its vast oil wealth, Venezuela’s electricity mix is extremely narrow: roughly 70–80% of its power supply relies on hydropower—a rarity globally. Its lifeline is the Guri Hydroelectric Plant (later renamed the Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant) on the Caroní River. Though Venezuela’s population exceeds Shanghai’s by four million, its land area is 145 times larger than Shanghai’s. Under such demographic and geographic conditions, entrusting the nation’s entire electricity supply to a single power plant makes recurrent large-scale blackouts unsurprising. On March 7, 2019, blackouts struck at least 20 of Venezuela’s 23 states. Caracas and other major cities plunged into darkness, causing traffic paralysis, water shortages, and communication failures—some areas took several days to recover. The Venezuelan government claimed the Guri Hydroelectric Plant (supplying ~80% of national electricity) had suffered an electromagnetic attack orchestrated by the United States; however, experts contend aging infrastructure and poor management were the root causes. A nationwide blackout recurred in July 2019, with some regions enduring outages exceeding 24 hours—further fueling social unrest and critical service shortages. Authorities labeled it a “terrorist attack” that disrupted transmission systems, though the fundamental issue remains the fragility of Venezuela’s generation and transmission infrastructure. Throughout 2020, blackouts occurred frequently—though no longer nationwide, rolling blackouts became routine across the country, with certain areas experiencing multi-hour daily outages, severely undermining livelihoods and economic activity.

Venezuela Grid Repairs Stalled by Payment Delay, GE Vernova Says

21 hours ago

GE Vernova CEO states Venezuela power grid repairs are stalled pending payment despite completed planning. The project targets reviving the oil-based economy amid chronic blackouts requiring billions in investment.

bloomberg

2026-10-28

Venezuela Grid Repairs Stalled by Payment Delay, GE Vernova Says

Venezuela Grid Repairs Stalled by Payment Delay, GE Vernova Says

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