A GOP lawmaker has doubled down on recent statements calling for some Democrats to be investigated for treason for providing security to Cuba, via evading U.S. sanctions or otherwise.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), a Cuban-American, made the initial remarks May 29 in an interview on the John Solomon Reports podcast, referencing a recent delegation of Democrats including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) traveling to Cuba and openly admitting that they put forth efforts to provide Cuba with oil, other necessities as the nation suffers from food and electricity shortages.
“Look, I personally, think they need to be investigated for treason,” Malliotakis told Solomon, adding that U.S. lawmakers should not be spending American taxpayer dollars to meet with adversaries. “I think that they really need to be investigated by Treasury, also by Justice.”
The Democrats’ trip to the country, located roughly 90 miles off the U.S. coast, came as United States officials ramped up tensions with Cuba—beginning with the Department of Justice indicting Raúl Castro for his alleged involvement in the fatal 1996 shoot-down of two unarmed U.S. Brothers to the Rescue civilian aircraft, also known as Hermanos al Rescate, over international waters.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a potential military operation involving was on the table, citing national security concerns on the United States’ side without elaborating on what that may entail. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrillahas remained steadfast, referring to Castro’s charges as “politically motivated and illegal” while cautioning the U.S. from causing a “humanitarian catastrophe” in which Cubans could spread in droves across Latin America.
Malliotakis, who represents New York’s 11th Congressional District, claimed to Solomon that Democrats are “trying to undercut” President Donald Trump with such efforts, which she said in turn hurts not just the U.S. government but the Cuban citizens.
“You’re actually supporting a regime that starves its people to death, that has made their lives miserable for 67 years, and has killed their family members and have split up their family members,” she said.
Controversial Trip
Jayapal, a progressive lawmaker, admitted last month that she made the trip to Cuba and defended it as “literally our right and responsibility.” That admission included attempting to provide oil to Cuba despite U.S. sanctions in place.
She met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, senior government officials, political dissidents, civil society groups and foreign diplomats during the trip, according to reports, saying 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.”
That came after a previous delegation made a five-day trip to Cuba. In April, she and Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) said in a joint statement that the U.S. embargo “is causing untold suffering to the Cuban people” and that not providing “a single drop of oil” as part of the world’s longest embargo “is cruel collective punishment…that has produced permanent damage” and should stop immediately.
“We witnessed firsthand premature babies in incubators, weighing just two pounds, who are at tremendous risk because their ventilators and incubators cannot function without electricity,” the lawmaker said. “Children cannot attend school because there is no fuel for them or their teachers to travel. Cancer patients cannot receive lifesaving treatments because of lack of medications.
“There is a water shortage because there is little electricity to pump water. Businesses have closed. Families cannot keep food refrigerated, and food production on the island has dropped to just 10 percent of the people’s needs.”
The lawmakers claimed that the majority of Americans “would want this kind of cruelty and inhumanity to continue in our name.”
But Malliotakis views things differently, citing how her mother fled Cuba in 1959 when Fidel Castro took power. The lawmaker told Military.com that the Castro regime stole her family’s home and small business, while family still remains but “have suffered greatly under communism.”
“They are undermining longstanding U.S. policy and the embargo by giving aid and comfort to Cuba’s communist regime and actively helping them circumvent U.S. sanctions,” Malliotakis told Military.com.
“This is the same regime that has oppressed the Cuban people for decades, provides a safe haven for American fugitives and bases of operation for our other adversaries, and bears responsibility for the murder of American citizens and these two members should be investigated to determine if any provision from conspiracy to treason under Title 18 of the United States Code have been violated,” she added.
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