Ortega and Chavez: Friends, allies and ‘socios’ (Flickr/chavezcandanga)
A huge question mark for Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez’ ongoing health problems are also making waves in Nicaragua, where Daniel Ortega has good reason to pray for his cross-Caribbean counterpart’s full and speedy recovery. Read the rest of this entry ?
Power shortages are adding to Venezuela's woes (courtesy of Flickr creative commons/Cecilia)
Home to one of the world’s most extensive oil and natural gas reserves, energy-rich Venezuela is nevertheless experiencing serious power problems at the moment, grappling with an acute electricity crisis that has resulted in rationing, rolling blackouts and periodic protests.
The government blames Mother Nature. In recent months a prolonged drought has parched the country, causing severe water shortages. A side effect has been decreased water flow (and thus reduced capacity) to the massive Guri Dam, a 10,200-megawatt (MW) behemoth that supplies more than 70 % of the country’s electricity. Located along Bolivar State’s Rio Caroni, the 1,300 meter-long dam – officially called the Central Hidroeléctrica Simon Bolivar – is the world’s third largest after the Three Gorges Dam (18,300 MW) in China and the Itaipu complex (14,000 MW) along the Brazil/Paraguay border.
