Cuba's national power grid collapsed on Tuesday (July 14), the energy ministry said, marking the third major blackout in nine days on the island of about 10 million people.

The frequent outages come as a U.S.-imposed oil blockade has crippled the island's already ageing energy infrastructure. 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 supplier, and subsequent U.S. pressure also led Mexico to halt oil shipments to the island.

The chronic power failures have fuelled frustration with the government and prompted small nightly pot-banging protests, as well as anger over the U.S.-imposed oil blockade.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

1. STREET

2. VEHICLES ON STREET, CAPITOL BUILDING IN DISTANCE

3. UNLIT STREET

4. SIGN READING (Spanish): "CUBA"

5. UNLIT STREET LIGHTS, CAR ON ROAD

6. UNLIT STREET LIGHTS AMID SUNSET

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, HECTOR MACHADO, SAYING:

"We are stressed, our food spoils, in fact, we have to buy day by day because it is impossible to buy food for the whole week, the month, it is impossible, it is impossible. The immense heat, what do we Cubans have to do, come here, us Havana residents come to the Malecon. Sit down for a while, spend a pleasant time in quotation marks, and nothing, what else can I tell you, everyone knows what is happening."

8. SOLID WASTE BURNING IN UNLIT STREET

9. RUBBISH BURNING IN UNLIT STREET

10. PEOPLE WALKING PAST BURNING RUBBISH BIN

11. INTERIOR OF UNLIT HOUSE

12. TWO PEOPLE TALKING INSIDE UNLIT HOUSE

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HAVANA RESIDENT, ELIO GONZALEZ, SAYING:

"This affects practically every sector of the country — it affects workplaces, it affects transport, it affects everything. In general, it affects everything and of course frustration comes with it. The situation we are going through is upsetting because no one would not want to be without water or electricity, without electricity to have light, to be able to watch television, to be able to do all those things. And that truly gets to you."

14. UNLIT STREET

15. PEOPLE WALKING ALONG UNLIT STREET

16. UNLIT STREET