Cyber Incident Victim: Caracas Power Grid
Date:
Jan 2026
Location:
Venezuela
Summary
During an operation to seize the Venezuelan leader, attackers caused a power loss in Caracas by combining physical strikes on substations with possible cyber interference. Videos showed bullet impacts, destroyed equipment and oil leaks at three government‑owned facilities, damage experts said could independently produce the observed outage. Experts said cyber activity may have complemented the kinetic strikes, potentially used beforehand to blind defenders and facilitate the physical strikes, illustrating a blended approach.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On January 3, 2026, during Operation Absolute Resolve aimed at capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a power outage occurred in Caracas. Videos and photographs shared online beginning January 5 showed physical damage at several substations owned by Corpoelec, including bullet impacts, destroyed equipment, blown doors, and oil leaks at the Panamericana 69 kV and Escuela Militar 4.8 kV sites. Venezuelan government officials stated that the damage was caused by missiles and said it took multiple transmission lines out of service, specifically the OAM-Vega Caricuao-Panamericana 1 and 2 (69 kV) and Junquito-Panamericana 1 and 2 (69 kV) lines. Local journalists also reported damage to a third substation at the Fuerte Tiuna military installation, with videos uploaded to YouTube on January 12 showing fires still burning. AirWars confirmed the geolocation of the affected substations and noted that heavy weapons and explosive munitions were used, while reporting no civilian harm.
The outage resulted in loss of electricity in parts of Caracas for a couple of hours, as noted by Venezuelan digital rights advocate Valentina Aguana, who said that only a few areas experienced downtime and power returned after a short period. Venezuelan authorities said the damage disrupted the OAM-Vega Caricuao-Panamericana and Junquito-Panamericana transmission lines, affecting service to those circuits. The Venezuelan government did not respond to requests for comment from CyberScoop regarding the incident. US Cyber Command referred inquiries to the Department of War, which did not provide a response. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said at a press conference that US Cyber Command and Space Command provided 'layering effects' for the operation.
President Donald Trump remarked at a post-operation press conference that the lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that the United States possesses, later describing the cause as a 'discombobulator.' No forensic evidence or technical details were publicly offered by the Pentagon or Cyber Command to confirm a cyberattack as the cause of the grid outage. The Venezuelan government stated that the damage resulted from missile strikes, while US officials described cyber and space contributions as layering effects.