Cuba on Monday suffered its third nationwide power outage since the start of the year, causing mounting despair in the face of an energy collapse precipitated by a U.S. fuel blockade.

The island nation was already struggling to keep the lights on before U.S. President Donald Trump?cut off its oil supplies in January, depleting the dwindling supply of fuel for its power plants.

Union Electrica (UNE), the state electricity company, announced a ¡°total disconnection¡± to the entire island at midday without giving a specific reason, leaving the communist country¡¯s 9.6 million inhabitants without power.