The Venezuelan Ministry of Energy, with the support of security agencies, has begun to enforce a government directive to control electricity consumption and shut down all mining companies.

Yesterday, May 20, Venezuelan authorities published a video showing the exemplary seizure and confiscation of equipment from a large mining facility in the industrial zone of Valencia.

In the comments to the video it is reported that the actions of the law enforcement agencies are aimed at protecting the citizens of the country who are deprived of reliable electricity due to the enormous volumes of theft of energy resources from the national grid by miners.

“We are disconnecting all cryptocurrency mining farms from the national power grid,” said a Venezuelan Ministry of Energy official.

To date, law enforcement authorities have detained more than 11,000 miners. The security operation in Venezuela continues, and more shutdowns and arrests are expected throughout the week.

The day before, the governor of the state of Carabobo, Rafael Lacava, called on local residents “in order to prevent disruptions in the operation of power grids” to report information about the activities of mining farms to law enforcement agencies.