A huge power outage in Venezuela has brought a significant portion of the country offline.

The exact cause of the outage is not yet known.

"Live network data show a nation-scale Internet disruption in Venezuela with national connectivity at 20 percent of ordinary levels; the incident is attributed to a widespread power outage," Internet connectivity tracker NetBlocks said.

Venezuela's Minister of Communications and Information, Freddy Ñañez, claimed that the outage was due to intentional sabotage. A similar, smaller outage was blamed on saboteurs three days ago.

"At 4:50 am today, Friday, August 30, we were once again victims of electrical sabotage that affected several states in the country, including Greater Caracas," Ñañez said (translated).

"At this moment, the electrical cabinet team is working to restore the service completely. A special operation has been activated in the capital for surface transport. No one will take away the peace and tranquility of Venezuelans."

Regions impacted include Caracas, Vargas, Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, Yaracuy, Lara, Merida, Tachira, Barinas, Trujillo, Zulia, Anzoategui, Monagas, Guarico, Bolivar, and Nueva Esparta.

Preceding and following July's disputed election in which Nicolás Maduro declared victory, the country has been beset by unrest and dissent amid the backdrop of an ever-worsening economy.