The Venezuelan government will ask the United Nations, Russia, China, Iran and Cuba to help investigate the cyberattack on the country’s power grid, which led to massive blackouts in the republic, President Nicolas Maduro said.
“I will request assistance from the UN, as well as from Russia, China, Iran and Cuba, who have vast experience in issues of protection against cyberattacks,” he said on Tuesday in a speech, broadcast via the Periscope app.
Maduro said he has already appointed a “special presidential commission to investigate the cyberattack.”
“I asked to include international specialists in it,” he said.
According to the Venezuelan leader, the government “has already prevailed, and restored the power grid” of the country. “We now need to reinforce it, to make it reliable and impregnable again,” he added.
On the evening of March 7, Caracas and 20 of the country’s 23 regions were left without electricity. The National Electric Company said the blackout had been caused by an accident at the Simon Bolivar Hydroelectric Plant, which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blamed on “US imperialism.” However, the US Department of State denied any involvement.
Electricity began to be gradually restored across Venezuela on the night of March 8 but the situation worsened later following reports about an explosion at an electric substation located on the outskirts of the city of Ciudad Bolivar. According to Maduro, the country’s law enforcement agencies have arrested two people suspected of being involved in attacks on Venezuela’s electricity grid.
Vice President for Communications and Culture Jorge Rodriguez said on Tuesday that power supplies have resumed in most of the country.