Two members of the far-left progressive 'Squad' made a secret visit to the Communist nation of Cuba last week, the Miami Herald reported.
Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), the leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, led a delegation of about 12 people to Cuba. The visit was not disclosed or reported on in Cuban media.
A spokesperson for the Progressive Caucus told the Herald, “Representatives Jayapal and Omar traveled to Cuba last week, where they met with people from across Cuban civil society and government officials to discuss human rights and the U.S.-Cuba bilateral relationship.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Havanah at the same time.
Jayapal and Omar have both been critics of the 60-year-old US embargo against Cuba and have supported legislation to lift the embargo.
Republican lawmakers condemned the pair for visiting Cuba.
“All members of the media should refer to the Progressive Caucus by their more accurate name — the Congressional Communist Sympathizing Caucus,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) wrote on X. “It’s outrageous that Members of Congress would visit a country that jails, abuses, and murders their citizens and supports Iran, Russia and Communist China against our interests."
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), whose family immigrated to the US from Cuba after the country became Communist, said, "The murderous dictatorship in Cuba must be defeated — not appeased."
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said, "Pro-Hamas members of marxist congressional squad just returned from a secret visit with anti-American dictatorship in Cuba."