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’

Mystery surrounds a secret trip by Squad members Ilhan Omar and Pramila Japayal to communist Cuba, which coincided with a visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The two leaders of the Democrats’ progressive caucus sparked anger as details of last week’s trip emerged, with Republicans accusing them of a communist “pilgrimage.”

The congresswomen, who have long been critics of the U.S. embargo on the Caribbean island, said they were there to “meet people from across Cuban civil society.”

But critics denounced their support for a country that “supports Iran, Russia and communist China.”

“It is outrageous that members of Congress are visiting a country where their citizens are imprisoned, abused and murdered,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY, herself a daughter of Cuban immigrants.

“Maybe 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 are fleeing communism.”

The pair led a delegation of about a dozen people, including a staffer from 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.

But both lawmakers have vociferously called for its delisting and an end to US sanctions on the island, which Japayal claims have “destroyed” the economy.

“Cuba’s inclusion on this list has made it nearly impossible for Cuba to conduct international business, leading to an economic downturn that has caused residents to flee the country,” he wrote in January.

“It’s time to reconnect with Cuba.”

“Economic and sectoral sanctions are too often designed to inflict maximum pain on citizens, not to empower them,” Omar said in 2019.

“We had a complete embargo on Cuba for decades, with little effect on the Cuban government, but a lot of pain for ordinary Cubans.”

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 did not give any of the usual publicity for visits by foreign lawmakers, and the American party entered the country unannounced when Congress was in recess.

The exact dates of the trip were not revealed, but no tweets were sent from Omar’s personal X account between February 17 and 21.

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.

“The reality of a multipolar world is provoking an aggressive response from the United States and other world minority countries that seek by all means to maintain their domination, hegemony and diktat,” he added.

Moscow and Havana have grown closer as Russia has sought 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” in its “clash with the West.”

A 2022 State Department report found that Cuba remains a systematic violator of human rights, committing arbitrary killings, torture and “degrading” treatment of political prisoners.

“Impunity for perpetrators remained widespread, as did impunity for official corruption,” the report concluded.

A spokeswoman for the 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus briefly explained the visit by the chairman and deputy chairman.

“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 bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Cuba,” she said.

But Republican leaders were unimpressed.

“No surprise that the Hamas Caucus made a pilgrimage to Cuba last week to get a refresher course on communism and bring it back to DC,” Florida Congressman Mike Waltz tweeted.

“All members of the media should refer to the Progressive Caucus by its more accurate name: the Congressional Communist Sympathizing Caucus,” Rep. Malliotakis added.