Cuba’s national electric grid has collapsed for the third time this month. The island’s latest blackout came as the U.S. continued to impose the oil blockade it’s maintained since January, soon after U.S. forces abducted former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Cuba had depended on Venezuela for fuel imports. The U.S. also pressured Mexico to halt oil shipments to the island. This is Julia Valdes, a resident of Havana.

Julia Valdes: “I feel terrible. It’s awful news. Just imagine: Without electricity, the food spoils. My mother is bedridden with senile dementia. And because of these blackouts, I’ve had to throw out meat and fish. I’ve had to throw it all away because it had rotted. It is unfair that we are going through this situation.”