(NewsWorthy.news) – The Democratic Chair and Deputy Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus have come under fire from Republican lawmakers over a secretive trip to Cuba. Washington Representative Pramila Jayapal and Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, chair and deputy chair of the CPC respectively, were on the trip according to CPC spokesperson Mia Jacobs.
Jacobs claimed that the purpose of the trip was to discuss human rights and U.S.-Cuba relations with both government officials and members from across society. The visit has attracted criticism due to its unusually discreet nature, as such trips by lawmakers usually receive more publicity from the governments of both countries.
Jayapal previously criticized the U.S. embargo on travel to Cuba in 2019. After Secretary of State Antony Blinken attacked Cuba’s handling of anti-government protesters, Omar also called on the White House to lift the embargo so they could fight for “dissidents” in the U.S. and abroad. Jayapal attracted controversy in January 2024 for calling Israel a “racist state”. Omar also caused a stir in February for reportedly “bragging” about pushing a Somalia First campaign in Congress and using ethnonationalist rhetoric in her speech discussing her nation of birth and the breakaway state of Somaliland.
Republican New York Representative Nicole Malliotakis, herself the daughter of a Greek father and a Cuban mother, called the CPC “communist sympathizers” and slated the Democrats for visiting a country that imprisons, abuses and murders its citizens. She also claimed that the state sides with China and Iran against American interests. Republican Florida Representative Carlos A. Gimenez, who was born in Havana, argued in response to the visit that Cuba should stay on the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
The number of Cuban migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border doubled in 2022 and Cubans replaced Venezuelans in October 2022 as the second most numerous nationality attempting to cross the border after Mexicans. The mass exodus from Cuba is reportedly fueled by a combination of economic, energy and political crises. According to the Herald Cuba traditionally publicizes the visits of American officials to portray their visit as a gesture of “solidarity” with Cubans.
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