Ilhan Omar's secret trip to CUBA: Democratic 'Squad' member joins Pramila Jayapal on visit to the communist nation drawing criticism over trip to country that supports Russia
- The top two progressive caucus leaders slipped out of the country while Congress was in recess, for unpublicized trip to the Communist state
- Both have been fierce critics of sanctions on Cuba's Russian ally, which remains on the US list of state sponsors of terror
Mystery surrounds a secret trip by Squad members Ilhan Omar and Pramila Jayapal to Communist Cuba that coincided with a visit by Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
The two leaders of the Democrats progressive caucus sparked fury when details of last week's trip emerged with top Republicans accusing them of a Communist 'pilgrimage.'
The Congresswomen are longstanding critics of the US embargo on the Caribbean island.
Critics slammed their support for a country that 'supports Iran, Russia and Communist China.'
'It's outrageous that Members of Congress would visit a country that jails, abuses, and murders their citizens,' said Rep Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY, herself a daughter of Cuban immigrants.
Reps Ilhan Omar and Pramila Jayapal, the chair and deputy chair of the Democrats' Congressional Progressive Caucus made their unpublicized trip while Congress was in recess
Rep Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY, herself a daughter of Cuban immigrants, was furious when news of the trip leaked out
'Perhaps their time would be better spent listening to the Cubans crossing our southern border and risking their lives on makeshift rafts to find out why they're fleeing Communism.'
The pair led a delegation of about a dozen people including a staffer from the office of California Rep Barbara Lee's office, the Miami Herald reported.
There are strict restrictions on travel to the island which was placed back on the list of state sponsors of terror by President Trump in January 2021.
As protests rocked Cuba in the summer of 2021, Omar and Japayal were among 40 Democrats who voted against a resolution calling for the immediate release of arbitrarily detained Cuban citizens.
The Cuban government gave none of its usual publicity for visits by foreign lawmakers, and the US party slipped into the country unannounced when Congress was in recess.
Lavrov, who was there on February 19, made no secret of his visit at the start of a South American tour, accusing the West of 'blackmail, ultimatums, threats' against both Russia and Cuba.
Lavrov accused the West of 'blackmail, ultimatums, threats' against both Russia and Cuba
Moscow and Havana have grown closer as Russia has reached out for allies in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, and in November 2022, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel traveled to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin.
Last year, Diaz-Canel assured Moscow of 'Cuba's unconditional support'
A 2022 State Department report found that Cuba remained a systematic abuser of human rights, carrying out arbitrary killings, torture and 'degrading' treatment of political prisoners.
'Impunity for the perpetrators remained widespread, as was impunity for official corruption,' it concluded.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov (left) made no secret of his trip to the island as he posed for photographs with Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez
Lavrov attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Jose Marti Monument in the capital Havana
'No surprise that the Hamas Caucus made a pilgrimage to Cuba last week to get a refresher course on communism to bring back to DC,' tweeted Florida Congressman Mike Waltz.
'All members of the media should refer to the Progressive Caucus by their more accurate name – the Congressional Communist Sympathizing Caucus,' Rep Malliotakis added.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13138435/Omar-japayal-cuba-lavrov-russia-squad.html
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