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A Democratic lawmaker is drawing backlash after saying she spoke with foreign ambassadors about getting oil to Cuba despite U.S. sanctions, defending the outreach as “literally our right and responsibility.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., made the remarks during a recent Seattle briefing 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 the ambassadors from Mexico and some other places … trying to figure out how to get oil there,” Jayapal said during the briefing, calling the situation on the island “a crisis beyond imagination.”
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., speaks during a House Budget Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jayapal said the event was part of a broader briefing on the humanitarian situation in Cuba following her recent visit.
“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.”
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She said she met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, senior government officials, political dissidents, civil society groups and foreign diplomats during the trip.
Video of the remarks circulated widely on X, where users criticized the progressive lawmaker’s comments and raised legal concerns.
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Conservative accounts amplified the clip, including End Wokeness, which claimed she was “conspiring against the U.S.” and suggested her actions could constitute a federal felony. Libs of TikTok wrote that her actions “seems a little like treason to me.”
https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/2052096397344735412
https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2052087119061938528
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called on the Democratic Party to “stand strong” amid the ongoing government shutdown. (Anadolu/Getty Images)
Social media users also pointed to potential legal implications. “Traitor. She should be prosecuted,” wrote “The Charlie Kirk Show” executive producer Andrew Kolvet on X.
Those claims are political commentary and have not been independently verified, and no investigation or charges have been publicly announced.
Jayapal responded to the backlash in a post on X, writing, “Breaking news: Members of Congress meet with ambassadors of other countries every day. That’s literally our right and responsibility.”
https://x.com/RepJayapal/status/2052112214279037346
Her remarks came as she sharply criticized U.S. sanctions on Cuba, describing them as “economic bombing of the infrastructure.”
“It is illegal. It is against the law,” she said. “This is essentially doing the same thing. It is bombing the infrastructure of Cuba with economic sanctions that essentially ensure that the infrastructure collapses.”
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The controversy has also prompted discussion of the Logan Act, a rarely used federal law that bars unauthorized individuals from negotiating with foreign governments in disputes involving the United States.
Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, told Digital the statute has never resulted in a conviction and has been used only sparingly in U.S. history.
“There has never been a conviction under it — in fact, there have only been two indictments, the last one about 174 years ago,” McCarthy said.
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was among a group of progressive Democrats who criticized the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for intervening in a contested primary in California’s 22nd Congressional District to back a centrist candidate over a left-leaning alternative. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
He added that any potential legal exposure would depend on whether a lawmaker took concrete action that violated U.S. sanctions.
“There would be no criminal case … unless it can be shown that she took some action that violated, or aided and abetted a violation of, the sanctions,” McCarthy said.
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He argued disputes over engagement with foreign governments are more appropriately handled through political accountability rather than criminal law.
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The Trump administration has previously described the Cuban government as a national security concern due to its ties to adversarial countries and actors, including relationships with Iran and alleged links to groups such as Hezbollah. The Cuban government has also faced longstanding criticism over political repression and restrictions on free speech.
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The island’s economic conditions have contributed to a surge in migration, with hundreds of thousands of Cubans arriving in the United States in recent years.
Jayapal, who traveled to Cuba in April with Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., has argued U.S. policy is worsening conditions for civilians on the island while also acknowledging concerns with the Cuban government.
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., faced criticism after saying climate-harming corporations like McDonald’s are responsible for California fires. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)
“I do also have criticisms of the Cuban government … In our meetings, I have always raised those,” she said, referencing issues including political prisoners and limits on dissent.
“The Cuban government has sent many signals that this is a new moment for the country,” Jayapal said in a statement following the trip, adding that U.S. restrictions on fuel amount to “cruel collective punishment.”
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She has called for lifting the U.S. embargo and removing Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list, while backing legislation to block potential U.S. military action against the country.
Digital has reached out to Jayapal’s office, the White House and the State Department for comment.
