Charles Tannock, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, the failure of the Guri hydropower plant last Thursday was yet another devastating blow to the people of Venezuela: the latest challenge to present itself to an already beleaguered, long-suffering and demoralised people. The exact causes of the problem are still difficult to ascertain, given the secrecy and the ludicrous claim circulating that this was an act of sabotage by the USA.
Much more likely, it seems, it was the result of underinvestment, attributable to the many years of corruption and mismanagement under the Chavez regime – a pattern we now see continuing under Maduro.
Reports suggest that all current attempts to resolve the situation have resulted in a worsening of the problem, with more substations and the wider national power grid now affected. With some 80% of the country’s population now affected, it is difficult to overestimate the severity of the problems as hospitals and other key services and infrastructure struggle to keep afloat.
I call upon all those EU Member States that have yet to do so to recognise Juan Guaidó as the interim President of Venezuela, in order to bring some relief to that broken state.