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 that coincided with a visit by Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

The two leaders of the Democrats progressive caucus sparked fury when details of last week's trip emerged with top Republicans accusing them of a Communist 'pilgrimage.'

The Congresswomen, who are longstanding critics of the US embargo on the Caribbean island, said they were there to 'meet with people from across Cuban civil society.'

But critics slammed their support for a country that 'supports Iran, Russia and Communist China.'

'It's outrageous that Members of Congress would visit a country that jails, abuses, and murders their citizens,' said Rep Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY, herself a daughter of Cuban immigrants.

Reps Ilhan Omar and Pramila Japayal, the chair and deputy chair of the Democrats' Congressional Progressive Caucus made their unpublicized trip while Congress was in recess

Rep Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY, herself a daughter of Cuban immigrants, was furious when news of the trip leaked out 

'Perhaps their time would be better spent listening to the Cubans crossing our southern border and risking their lives on makeshift rafts to find out why they're fleeing Communism.'

The pair led a delegation of about a dozen people including a staffer from the office of 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 been vociferous in calling for its removal from the list and an end to US sanctions on the island which Japayal claims have 'devastated' its economy.

'Being on this list has made it nearly impossible for Cuba to do international business, driving an economic downturn that has led residents to flee the country,' he wrote in January.

'It's time to re-engage with Cuba.'

'Economic and sector sanctions are too often designed to inflict maximum pain on civilians, not empower them,' Omar said in 2019.

'We had a full embargo on Cuba for decades, with little effect on the Cuban government but much pain inflicted on 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 gave none of its usual publicity for visits by foreign lawmakers, and the US party slipped into the country unannounced when Congress was in recess.

The precise dates of the trip have not been 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.

Lavrov accused the West of 'blackmail, ultimatums, threats' against both Russia and Cuba

'The realities of a multi-polar world are provoking an aggressive reaction from the United States and other countries of the world minority which by all means want to preserve their domination, hegemony and diktat,' Lavrov added

'The realities of a multi-polar world are provoking an aggressive reaction from the United States and other countries of the world minority which by all means want to preserve their domination, hegemony and diktat,' he added.

Moscow and Havana have grown closer as Russia has reached out for 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 remained a systematic abuser of human rights, carrying out arbitrary killings, torture and 'degrading' treatment of political prisoners.

'Impunity for the perpetrators remained widespread, as was impunity for official corruption,' it concluded.

A spokeswoman for the 100-strong Congressional Progressive Caucus gave a brief explanation for the visit by its chair and deputy chair.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov (left) made no secret of his trip to the island as he posed for photographs with Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez

Lavrov attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Jose Marti Monument in the capital Havana

'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 US-Cuba bilateral relationship,' 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 to bring back to DC,' tweeted Florida Congressman Mike Waltz.

'All members of the media should refer to the Progressive Caucus by their more accurate name – the Congressional Communist Sympathizing Caucus,' Rep Malliotakis added.