Cuba experienced a nationwide blackout for the third time in about a week, the Cuban Energy Ministry said Tuesday.

The ministry added on platform X: "There has been a total failure of the energy system," explaining that protocols to restore power have been activated.

The ministry later said a fault in a unit at a thermal power plant caused the national grid to disconnect, adding that electricity is being gradually restored in several parts of the country, according to German news agency dpa.

Cuba had already experienced nationwide blackouts last Friday and on July 6. The socialist Caribbean island is suffering a severe energy crisis due to its crumbling infrastructure and an oil embargo imposed by the United States for months.

The blackout comes amid a critical energy crisis that has already severely affected the country, with fuel reserves dwindling and the electrical grid continuing to collapse.

Fuel has been running out across Cuba since January, when US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to the island, deepening the ongoing economic and financial crisis on the island.

Public transportation has largely stopped, officials have canceled tens of thousands of surgeries, Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it needs, and 730,000 barrels of oil delivered by a Russian tanker in late March were exhausted by the end of last April.

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