Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) is defending her April trip to Cuba after revealing she met directly with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, foreign ambassadors, and senior government officials to discuss lifting U.S. sanctions and the American fuel embargo against the communist island.
Jayapal, who traveled to Cuba as part of a congressional delegation alongside Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) went public with details of the trip at a Seattle briefing, where her comments went viral on X and drew swift backlash from conservatives and the White House.
“I had a meeting with the ambassadors of a couple of countries to hear how U.S. policy toward Cuba was affecting those countries,” Jayapal told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “We meet with ambassadors all the time. That is part of our job.”
The congresswoman confirmed she also met with Cuban political dissidents, civil society groups, and senior regime officials. She described Cuba’s situation as a “crisis beyond imagination” and called for direct diplomatic negotiations to replace the existing U.S. embargo, which she said has been in place for more than 60 years without achieving its goals. “I’ve been very clear that the way to engage with Cuba is through a true diplomatic negotiation and that none of the embargo, or the fuel blockade is helping us to achieve any of that,” Jayapal said.
She said she is now drafting legislation to undo U.S. fuel restrictions on Cuba, which she called “cruel collective punishment” of ordinary Cuban citizens. She has also called for removing Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list and blocking any potential U.S. military action against the island.
The trip and Jayapal’s subsequent public statements have raised questions about the Logan Act, a federal law that bars private citizens and unauthorized individuals from negotiating with foreign governments on matters in dispute with the United States. Legal experts note the law is rarely enforced and has only resulted in two indictments in its history.
The White House has separately flagged Cuba’s ties to Iran and Hezbollah as active national security concerns. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was born to Cuban exiles, has said Cuba needs “new people in charge” and has pushed to tighten restrictions on the island, not loosen them.
