Russia hosts Cuban foreign minister and urges US not to blockade Cuba

MOSCOW (AP) — The Cuban foreign minister visited Moscow on Wednesday as the island faces blackouts and severe fuel shortages worsened by a U.S oil embargo.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and was set to meet later in the day with President Vladimir Putin.

Lavrov urged the U.S. to refrain from blockading Cuba, which has struggled to import oil for its power plants and refineries after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened any nation that sold oil to Cuba with tariffs.

“Together with most members of the global community, we are calling on the U.S. to show common sense, take a responsible approach and refrain from its plans of sea blockade,” Lavrov said during the talks with Rodriguez.

He promised that Moscow will “continue supporting Cuba and its people in protecting the country's sovereignty and security.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also noted that “Russia, like many other countries, has consistently spoken against the blockade of the island.”

“We have our relations with Cuba, and we value these relations very much,” Peskov told reporters. “And we intend to further develop them — of course, during difficult times, by providing appropriate assistance to our friends.”

Asked whether sending fuel to Cuba could derail a recent warming of ties with Washington, Peskov responded that “we don't think these issues are linked.”

Putin has praised Trump's efforts to mediate an end to the conflict in Ukraine, and Moscow and Washington have discussed ways to revive their economic ties.

Venezuela, one of Cuba’s main oil suppliers, stopped selling crude to the island in January after the U.S. captured then-President Nicolás Maduro in a pre-dawn raid and flew him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

Mexico also cut off oil shipments to Cuba in January, after Trump issued the tariff threat.

Russia's Izvestia news outlet last week cited the Russian embassy in Havana as saying that Moscow was preparing to send humanitarian fuel shipment to Havana in the near future. On Monday, Russian ambassador to Cuba, Viktor Koronelli, said that Moscow was looking into details of organizing assistance to Cuba but offered no specifics.

Cuba's fuel shortages already have forced Russian tourist companies to halt the sales of package tours to the island after the Cuban government said that it will not provide fuel to planes that land on the island.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov listen to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, during their talks at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool)

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, left, gestures while speaking to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, back to a camera, during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Hector Retamal/Pool Photo via AP)

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, left, and Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and the head of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev, foreground right, greet each other prior to their talks in Moscow, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik Pool Photo via AP)

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, left, listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Hector Retamal/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Hector Retamal/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, second left, and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, front right, enter a hall during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Hector Retamal/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, 2nd left, meets with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, right, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Hector Retamal/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez enter a hall during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Hector Retamal/Pool Photo via AP)

NEVADA CITY, Calif. (AP) — Crews found the bodies of eight backcountry skiers and are searching for one more who remains missing after an avalanche in the mountains near Lake Tahoe, authorities said Wednesday, making it the deadliest U.S. avalanche in nearly half a century.

Authorities have told the families the mission has moved from rescuing people to recovering bodies, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said during a news conference.

Six others from the same group of skiers were rescued Tuesday. They were on a guided, three-day trek in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada as a monster winter storm pummeled the West Coast.

“Someone saw the avalanche, yelled avalanche, and it overtook them rather quickly,” said Capt. Russell “Rusty” Greene, of the sheriff’s office.

The bodies of the eight were fairly close together, Greene said. Three of those who died were guides on the trip. The crews have not yet been able to remove the victims from the mountain because of the extreme conditions, the sheriff said.

The avalanche is the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier, Washington. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center.

An avalanche in the region killed a snowmobiler in January.

The skiers all had beacons that are able to send signals to rescuers, but it wasn't clear if they were wearing avalanche bags, inflatable devices that can keep skiers near the surface, Greene said.

While they waited to be rescued, the six survivors used equipment to shelter themselves and were trying to stay warm with temperatures dipping below freezing, Moon said. The survivors located three others who had died, Moon said.

Rescuers used a snowcat to get within 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of the survivors, then skied in carefully so they didn't set off another avalanche, the sheriff said.

One of those rescued remains in a hospital Wednesday, Moon said.

The area near Donner Summit is one of the snowiest places in the Western Hemisphere and until just a few years ago was closed to the public. It sees an average of nearly 35 feet (10 meters) of snow a year, according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns a cluster of huts where the group was staying near Frog Lake.

The Sierra Avalanche Center warned Wednesday that the risk of avalanche remains high and advised against travel in the area. Multiple feet of snowfall and gale force winds in recent days left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable, and more snow was predicted to fall, the center said.

Greene said authorities were notified about the avalanche by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, and the skiers’ emergency beacons. The sheriff’s office said Tuesday night that 15 backcountry skiers had been on the trip, not 16 as initially believed.

The skiers were on the last day of a backcountry skiing trip and had spent two nights in the huts, said Steve Reynaud, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. He said the area requires navigating rugged mountainous terrain. All food and supplies need to be carried to the huts.

Reaching the huts in winter takes several hours and requires backcountry skills, avalanche training and safety equipment, the land trust says on its website. The area near Donner Summit was closed for nearly a century before it was reopened by the land trust and its partners in 2020.

Donner Summit is named for the infamous Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism after getting trapped there in the winter of 1846-1847.

Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement that the group, including four guides, was returning to the trailhead when the avalanche occurred.

When asked what went through her mind as her staff and volunteers responded to the scene, Moon said she was hoping they would be able to make it there safely. Once they did, she said she was “immediately thinking of the folks that didn’t make it, and knowing our mission now is to get them home.”

Watson reported from San Diego and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu and Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed.

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon updates media on rescue efforts following an avalanche at a news conference in Nevada City, Calif. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen)

A road is cleared during a snow storm on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 near Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

Snow covers a street sign on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

This image provided by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office shows members of a rescue team in Soda Springs, California on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Nevada County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Cars are covered in snow during a snow storm on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Photos/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

Trucks are lined up along Interstate 80 during a storm on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Photos/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

A vehicle is buried in snow during a storm on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Photos/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

A road is plowed during a snow storm on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Photos/Brooke Hess-Homeier)

This image provided by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office shows members of a rescue team in Soda Springs, California on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Nevada County Sheriff's Office via AP)