Venezuela largely recovers from power outage

By Lokman Ilhan</p> <p> CARACAS, Venezuela (AA) – Power has been largely restored in Venezuela after a massive outage since March 7 left most of the country in darkness.</p> <p>Government offices, factories and shopping centers have reopened and the Caracas Metro has resumed service, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent on the scene.</p> <p> Educational institutions closed due to the outage will resume classes tomorrow.</p> <p> Running water has returned to some districts of the capital, while intermittent power outages continue in others.</p> <p> Some banks in Venezuela are still offering limited services due to power problems.</p> <p>Venezuela plunged into darkness last Thursday with power cuts hitting 21 of the country’s 23 states.</p> <p> President Nicolas Maduro and his government have termed the outage &quot;sabotage&quot; amid a lingering political crisis in the country.</p> <p> On Tuesday, Maduro announced the arrest of two suspects who were allegedly trying to sabotage a major hydroelectric power plant.</p> <p> 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.</p> <p> Tensions flared when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself acting president on Jan. 23, a move supported by the U.S. and many European and Latin American countries.</p> <p> Turkey, Russia, China, Iran, Bolivia and Mexico have thrown their weight behind Maduro.