CUBA has suffered a third nationwide power cut in two weeks amid a continuing US oil embargo.

Fuel has been running out across Cuba since January, when US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island. Public transport has largely been halted and officials have cancelled tens of thousands of hospital operations.

The state-owned Electric Union reported that a problem with a generating unit in the eastern province of Holguin had caused “a sudden frequency change,” resulting in the National Electric System ceasing to provide power at around mid-day.

Both the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Electric Union indicated that “protocols for its restoration have been activated,” meaning that “micro-islands” were being established and then interconnected to provide power to priority locations, such as hospitals and food processing plants.

Last week, nationwide blackouts on Monday and Friday left more than nine million Cubans in the dark, following two in March and several regional power cuts.