Attack on Venezuela’s National Electric System (Corpoelec) during the U.S. operation on January 3, 2026
On January 4, 2026, Corpoelec reported a “criminal attack” against the National Electric System (SEN) that occurred during the U.S. military operation “Absolute Resolve” on January 3. The Panamericana (69 kV) and Escuela Militar (4.8 kV) substations, as well as several 69 kV power lines, were affected, leaving large areas of Caracas without power. The Venezuelan government blamed the incident on the United States; media outlets and cybersecurity experts debated whether the outage was caused by a cyberattack on industrial control systems, physical damage, or a combination of both. There is no public confirmation that U.S. Cyber Command directly caused the power outage.
Impact details
Power outage affecting large areas of Caracas (Granada, Caricuao, Paraíso, El Pinar, Los Rosales, Colinas de Bello Monte, among others) following damage to the Panamericana (69 kV) and Escuela Militar (4.8 kV) substations and outages on the OAM-Vega-Caricuao-Panamericana 1 and 2 and Junquito-Panamericana 1 and 2 (69 kV) lines. Reports indicate physical damage ( .50-caliber bullet holes, destroyed equipment, oil leaks) as well as a suspected cyberattack on the control systems. No data exfiltration has been reported.
Classification & severity
- Category
- Availability
- Subtype
- Service outage
- Confidence
- Medium
Severity assessment
High- Functional impact
- Degraded (critical)
- Information impact
- None
- Critical service
- Disrupted
- Public confidence
- Moderate
- Recoverability
- Supplemented
Official Venezuelan sources confirm reports of outages or attacks and the affected infrastructure; independent reporting does not confirm that the cause is exclusively cyber-related or that the U.S. Cyber Command is responsible.
Timeline
During the U.S. operation “Absolute Resolve” (which culminated in the capture of Maduro and Cilia Flores), a power outage occurred in Caracas; damage to National Electric System (SEN) substations was documented, and the involvement of U.S. Cyber Command in cyber operations was debated.
Corpoelec and the MPPEE issue statements denouncing a “criminal attack” against the National Electric System, identifying the Panamericana (69 kV) and Escuela Militar (4.8 kV) substations and the affected power lines, and attributing the incident to the United States.
Analysis by cybersecurity experts (CyberScoop and others) concludes that physical/kinetic damage was the primary cause of the blackout, while the cyber component likely played a supporting role and reduced situational awareness.