Republican lawmakers slammed two progressive House "Squad" members for recently visiting communist Cuba.
Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., visited Cuba last week while the House was in recess, a spokesperson for the Congressional Progressive Caucus confirmed to the Washington Examiner.
The news sparked outrage from GOP members of Congress.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., son of Cuban immigrants, on Wednesday morning shared a Miami Herald story that broke the news about the lawmakers’ trip.
"Pro-Hamas members of marxist congressional squad just returned from a secret visit with anti-American dictatorship in #Cuba," he posted on X.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., a Cuban exile, suggested that the trip's goal was to appease the communists.
"The murderous dictatorship in Cuba must be defeated — not appeased," Gimenez posted on X.
"The communist regime has turned the island of #Cuba into a den of illicit, nefarious and terrorist activity," he added, in Spanish, in another post.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., whose mother left Cuba following the rise of Fidel Castro, called Jayapal and Omar's trip "outrageous."
"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," Malliotakis said in a post on X.
"Perhaps their time would be better spent listening to the Cubans crossing our southern border & risking their lives on makeshift rafts to find out why they’re fleeing Communism."
The Miami Herald reported that Jayapal and Omar led a group of about a dozen people who visited Cuba last week, and the group included a congressional staffer from the office of California Democrat Rep. Barbara Lee’s office.
Jayapal and Omar have been vocal critics of the U.S. embargo against Cuba and have supported bills to normalize relations with the island’s communist government.
Jayapal in January urged the Biden administration to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism. The decision to add Cuba to the list was made during the final days of then-President Donald Trump’s administration.
"Being on this list has made it nearly impossible for Cuba to do international business, driving an economic downturn that has led residents to flee the country," Jayapal said in a post on X. "It’s time to re-engage with Cuba."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.