Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, Sept. 4, 2024.     Photo: X/ @RoiLopezRivas

Caracas, September 6 (RHC)-- Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has confirmed the arrest of 11 people related to the blackout on August 30th and reiterated that the fascist opposition was responsible for the sabotage.

“There are already people detained.  We are transferring them to Caracas,” he said during his TV program “Con el Mazo Dando," without providing further details at this time.  The interior minister also stated that far-right organizations know that an attack on the electrical system is a “broad blow” because the blackout affects the water supply and the functioning of hospitals.

Regarding these consequences, Diosdado Cabello recalled that a woman was undergoing a bone marrow transplant during the blackout at a hospital in Caracas.  Fortunately, however, the operation was successful and was completed without any issues.

On Friday, August 30th, terrorist groups attacked the Guri system, the main power generation facility located in Bolivar State.  The resulting blackout was the second-longest in Venezuela, following a sabotage blackout in March 2019, when the governments of the United States and Colombia, led at the time by Donald Trump and Ivan Duque, activated a new wave of destabilization actions against Venezuela.

Interior Minister Cabello also confirmed the arrest of a U.S. Marine, who was allegedly part of a new destabilization plan aimed at attacking President Nicolas Maduro.

Previously, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said that “a U.S. Marine was detained on or around August 30, 2024, by Venezuelan law enforcement authorities while on a 'personal trip' to Venezuela.”