Venezuela has been hit by a major blackout, which Nicolas Maduro's swiftly blamed on opposition “sabotage” of a hydroelectric dam.

The power outage hit 22 of 23 states and struck the capital of Caracas, which until now had been spared the worse of the national grid’s collapse.

Venezuela’s socialist government branded the outage an “electrical war” directed by the US. Pro-government officials have blamed past power outages on Venezuela’s opposition, accusing activists of attacking power substations with Molotov cocktails, though they rarely provide evidence.

Communications minister Jorge Rodriguez claimed right-wing extremists intent on causing pandemonium and taking orders from Florida’s Republican senator Marco Rubio were behind the blackout, but offered no proof.

The blackout struck on Thursday and power had yet to be restored in Caracas and many other areas by early Friday morning.

Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value Show all 13 1 /13 Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-3.jpg FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2019 file photo, Venezuelan migrant Edixon Infante shows a handicraft made in with devalued Venezuelan currency, in Cucuta, Colombia. The Venezuelan government and its state-owned entities currently owe around $150 billion to creditors around the world, while the countryÃ¢â¬â¢s foreign currency reserves have fallen to just $8 billion. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File) AP Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-1.jpg A Venezuelan migrant shows handicrafts made in with devalued Venezuelan currency, in Cucuta, Colombia, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. The Venezuelan military blocked a border bridge where humanitarian aid is expected to arrive with a tanker and two cargo trailers, Colombian officials said Monday, in an apparent bid to stop the loads of food and other supplies from entering the country. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) AP Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-2.jpg Venezuelan migrant Edixon Infante shows his handicrafts made in with devalued Venezuelan currency, in Cucuta, Colombia, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. Tensions in the area have risen since the Venezuelan military blocked a border bridge where humanitarian aid is expected to arrive with a tanker and two cargo trailers, Colombian officials said Monday, in an apparent bid to stop the loads of food and other supplies from entering the country. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) AP Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-5.jpg Closeup of a purse made by Venezuelan Wilmer Rojas, out of Bolivar banknotes in Caracas on January 30, 2018. - A young Venezuelan tries to make a living out of devalued Bolivar banknotes by making crafts with them. (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Margioni BERMUDEZ (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-4.jpg Detail of a bag made with Bolivarian money seen in the La Parada neighborhood in Cucuta, Colombia, near the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, on the border with Tachira, Venezuela, on February 9, 2019. - Venezuelans cross to Colombia to buy groceries due to the shortages in their country. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed on Friday not to let in "fake" aid from the United States requested by opposition leader Juan Guaido, which is being stockpiled at the border with Colombia. (Photo by Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP)RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-6.jpg Wilmer Rojas, 25, shows the purses he sewn up, using Bolivar bills in Caracas, on January 30, 2018. - A young Venezuelan tries to make a living out of devalued Bolivar banknotes by making crafts with them. (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Margioni BERMUDEZ (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-8.jpg Torn apart Venezuelan two-Bolivar banknotes lie in a street of Caracas on January 28, 2019. - Venezuela devalued its currency by almost 35 percent on Monday to bring it into line with the exchange rate of the dollar on the black market. The exchange rate is now fixed at 3,200 bolivars to the dollar, almost matching the 3,118.62 offered on the dolartoday.com site that acts as the reference for the black market. (Photo by YURI CORTEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-9.jpg CARACAS, VENEZUELA - FEBRUARY 02: A woman holds a sign that reads 'No more dictatorship' during a rally against the government of NicolÃ¡s Maduro in the streets of Caracas on February 2, 2019 in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela's self-declared president and accepted by over 20 countries, Juan Guaido, called Venezuelans to the streets and demands the resignation of NicolÃ¡s Maduro. (Photo by Marco Bello/Getty Images) Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-7.jpg CARACAS, VENEZUELA - FEBRUARY 02: People shout slogans during a rally against the government of NicolÃÂ¡s Maduro in the streets of Caracas on February 2, 2019 in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela's self-declared president and accepted by over 20 countries, Juan Guaido, called Venezuelans to the streets and demands the resignation of NicolÃÂ¡s Maduro. (Photo by Marco Bello/Getty Images) Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-10.jpg CARACAS, VENEZUELA - JANUARY 30: A woman holds a banner that reads "No more deaths due to lack of medicines" during a demonstration against the government of President NicolÃ¡s Maduro called by the opposition leader self-proclaimed âacting presidentâ Juan Guaido on January 30, 2019 in Caracas, Venezuela. Guaido is appealing international leaders and military forces to recognize him as the rightful president of Venezuela. (Photo by Marco Bello/Getty Images) Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-15.jpg A man cleans his stall selling hot dogs and hamburgers with new grocery prices in Caracas, Venezuela on January 15, 2019. - The president of Venezuela, NicolÃ¡s Maduro, increased the minimum wage by 300% Monday, a measure that was accompanied by a devaluation of 9.18% of the local currency, the bolivar. The new minimum income reaches two kilos of meat, in the middle of a hyperinflation that -according to the IMF- will reach 10,000,000% this year. (Photo by YURI CORTEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-14.jpg TOPSHOT - A man holds a cardboard with empty packages of different products and their prices, during a mass opposition rally against leader Nicolas Maduro in which Venezuela's National Assembly head Juan Guaido (out of frame) declared himself the country's "acting president", on the anniversary of a 1958 uprising that overthrew a military dictatorship, in Caracas on January 23, 2019. - "I swear to formally assume the national executive powers as acting president of Venezuela to end the usurpation, (install) a transitional government and hold free elections," said Guaido as thousands of supporters cheered. Moments earlier, the loyalist-dominated Supreme Court ordered a criminal investigation of the opposition-controlled legislature. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Venezuelans make art from banknotes in bid to give them value venezuela-currency-11.jpg People raise their hands during a mass opposition rally against President Nicolas Maduro in which Venezuela's National Assembly head Juan Guaido (out of frame) declared himself the country's "acting president", on the anniversary of a 1958 uprising that overthrew a military dictatorship, in Caracas on January 23, 2019. - "I swear to formally assume the national executive powers as acting president of Venezuela to end the usurpation, (install) a transitional government and hold free elections," said Guaido as thousands of supporters cheered. Moments earlier, the loyalist-dominated Supreme Court ordered a criminal investigation of the opposition-controlled legislature. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty

It comes amid a political struggle between Mr Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, the head of congress who declared himself the nation’s rightful president in January and is recognised by the US and around 50 other nations.

Mr Guaido used the outage to attack Mr Maduro on Twitter: ”How do you tell a mom who needs to cook, an ill person who depends on a machine, a worker who should be labouring that we are in a powerful country without electricity?”

He used the hashtag “SinLuz”, meaning “without light”. “Venezuela is clear that the light will return with the end of usurpation.”

Journalists allegedly detained by Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro after showing him a video of people eating rubbish

Venezuela is currently in the midst of turmoil, experiencing hyperinflation which is projected to reach 10 million per cent this year, as well as suffering food and medical shortages.

It has lost around 10 per cent of its population to migration in the last few years.