Rep Jayapal defends outreach after Cuba trip drew conspiracy allegations, death threats
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said she has received death threats for "doing my job" and meeting with foreign ambassadors about Cuba’s fuel shortages and U.S. sanctions.
Following her trip to Cuba as part of a congressional delegation in April, conservatives are now labeling the progressive lawmaker a "traitor" who is "conspiring against the U.S." because she met with political leaders to discuss the "crisis" on the island.
"I've gotten death threats as a result of this," Jayapal told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. "People are calling for me to be shot, and it's just a fabrication. It is what's wrong with so much of the work that we do."
Following her controversial visit to Cuba with Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Jayapal spoke at a Seattle briefing, where her comments went viral on X.
She admitted to meeting with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, senior government officials, political dissidents, civil society groups and foreign diplomats to discuss the island’s "crisis beyond imagination."
Jayapal justified the meetings as part of her job as a member of Congress.
"It's ridiculous," she said. "First of all, I had a meeting with the ambassadors of a couple of countries to hear how U.S. policy toward Cuba was affecting those countries. We meet with ambassadors all the time. That is part of our job, to assess what's going on on the ground."
She said U.S. sanctions have not been effective. Instead, she called for direct negotiations with Cuba.
"I've been very clear that the way to engage with Cuba is through a true diplomatic negotiation and that none of the embargo, that's been the longest-standing embargo for over 60 years, or the fuel blockade is helping us to achieve any of that," she said.
Jayapal said she is working to address the impacts of U.S. fuel restrictions, which she has slammed as "cruel collective punishment" to the citizens of the island.
"I’m working on legislation to address negative impacts of U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba," she said. "I’m a member of Congress. I have every right to go travel and to meet with other ambassadors."
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Her actions have raised questions about the Logan Act, a rarely used federal law that bars unauthorized individuals from negotiating with foreign governments in disputes involving the U.S.
The White House weighed in, blasting Jayapal’s trip as "shameful" and accused her of "suffering from [Trump Derangement Syndrome]" in a statement to Fox News Digital last week.
"The Democrats continue to show Americans who they really are, the America Last party who sip margaritas with terrorists, advocate for illegal alien criminals, and undermine the United States to aid a failed communist regime," White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said.
Cuba’s ties to adversarial countries and actors, including Iran and Hezbollah, remain a national security concern, according to the Trump administration. The island’s economic crisis has fueled a surge in migration to the U.S. in recent years.
Jayapal told Fox News Digital that most Americans would not approve of civilians' living conditions in Cuba if they knew how bad it is.
"The humanitarian crisis on the ground, with babies in the NICU being unable to get care for their incubators to work," she said. "The lack of food on the island, so many other things, is a travesty, and I actually don't think that most Americans would want that."
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Jayapal has also called for lifting the U.S. embargo, removing Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list and supporting legislation to block potential U.S. military action.
She has previously criticized the Cuban government, which has faced scrutiny for political repression and limits on free speech.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.
