Cuba's national electric grid collapses for the third time in July, state media says

HAVANA, July 14 - Cuba's national power grid collapsed on Tuesday, state media reported, marking the third major blackout on the island in nine days.

The outage left around 10 million people without power amid a U.S.-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the island's already obsolete generation system.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an oil blockade on the Caribbean island after Washington deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

Venezuela was Cuba's primary fuel benefactor, and subsequent U.S. pressure also led Mexico to halt oil shipments to the island.

The chronic power failures fueled rising social tensions, sparking scattered pot-banging protests in Havana last week after the nationwide blackout. REUTERS