Dem Accused of Violating Federal Law in Stunt to Aid Communist Regime With Mexico
A top House Democrat is being accused of breaking federal law after she admitted to meeting with foreign ambassadors about getting oil to Cuba’s communist regime despite U.S. sanctions, defending the outreach as “literally our right and responsibility.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D‑Wash., made the remarks during a recent briefing in Seattle following a congressional delegation trip to Cuba, where she discussed the island’s worsening fuel shortages and U.S. policy toward the communist regime.
“I was in conversations with ambassadors from Mexico and some other places … trying to figure out how to get oil there,” Jayapal said during the briefing, describing conditions on the island as “a crisis beyond imagination.”
Jayapal said the comments were part of a broader discussion on the humanitarian situation in Cuba following her visit last month.
“As many of you know, I traveled to Cuba as part of a congressional delegation last month,” she said. “It is part of my role to see how U.S. foreign policy is actually affecting the people in the countries where that policy is being implemented.”
During the trip, Jayapal said she met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz‑Canel, senior government officials, political dissidents, civil society groups, and foreign diplomats.
Jayapal’s remarks drew sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers, who accused her of attempting to undermine U.S. sanctions and foreign policy.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X that “there’s something wrong with a member of Congress actively working to undermine the application of U.S. law against a foreign adversary.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R‑Texas, called the move “shameful,” describing it as an example of “Democrats openly supporting our communist enemies.”
Rep. Clay Fuller, R‑Ga., said there is “something deeply un‑American about coordinating with a foreign adversary against the president of the United States.”
Lee and Fuller both suggested Jayapal’s actions could violate the Logan Act, a rarely enforced 1799 federal law that prohibits unauthorized U.S. citizens from negotiating with foreign governments in disputes with the United States.
The Logan Act has produced no successful prosecutions in modern history, though it is periodically cited in political disputes involving foreign contacts by U.S. officials or private citizens.
“If she violated the Logan Act, she should be prosecuted,” Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., told The Daily Signal.
Fine added that she was openly admitting and boasting about circumventing U.S. foreign policy because she is “likely a dual citizen” who doesn’t “share American values.”
“She is not loyal to this country, we shouldn’t be surprised when she works with our enemies,” Fine added.
Cuba is designated by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism and has long faced criticism from human rights organizations for suppressing political dissent, restricting free speech, and imprisoning political opponents.
Cuban dissidents and community leaders, such as Florida legislative aide Miguel Granda, Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., and Trump-endorsed Florida state Rep. David Borrero, have described Cuba’s communist regime as “murderers,” an abuser of “egregious human rights violations,” and a “regime of dictators, narco-terrorists, and communists.”
Additionally, a studyopens in a new tab from Florida International University found that a majority of the 2.4 million Cubansopens in a new tab in the United States oppose the island’s communist regime and want to see an end to nearly seven decades of dictatorship.
