Lawyer Pramila Jayapal says she is facing death threats during her trip to Cuba
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said she received death threats for “doing my job” and meeting with foreign diplomats about Cuba’s fuel shortages and U.S. sanctions.
Following his trip to Cuba as part of a congressional delegation in April, conservative members are now calling the progressive lawmaker a “traitor” who “conspiracy against the US” because he met with political leaders to discuss the “tragedy” on the island.
“I got death threats because of this,” Jayapal told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “People are calling for me to be shot, and it’s just a fabrication. That’s what’s wrong with a lot of the work we do.”
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., speaks during a House Budget Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
After his controversial visit to Cuba with Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Jayapal spoke at a forum in Seattle, where his comments were widely expressed in X.
He admitted that he met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, senior government officials, political opponents, civil society organizations and foreign diplomats to discuss the “unthinkable island problem.”
Jayapal organized meetings as part of his work as a Congress member.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “First, I had a meeting with the ambassadors of several countries to hear how the US policy regarding Cuba affects those countries. We meet with ambassadors all the time. That’s part of our job, to check what’s happening on the ground.”
He said the American sanctions did not work. Instead, he called for direct talks with Cuba.
“I was clear that the way to communicate with Cuba is through real communication and that none of the embargo, which has been in place for more than 60 years, or the fuel embargo is helping us achieve any of that,” he said.
Jayapal said he was working to address the effects of the US fuel restrictions, which he described as “cruel collective punishment” on the island’s residents.
“I am working on legislation to address the negative impact of American foreign policy on Cuba,” she said. “I am a member of Congress. I have the right to go and meet other ambassadors.”
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., speaks at a forum in Seattle following a congressional trip to Cuba, where she spoke about US sanctions and the humanitarian situation on the island. (Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal Facebook)
His actions have raised questions about the Logan Act, a rarely used federal law that prevents unauthorized persons from negotiating with foreign governments in conflicts involving the US.
The White House weighed in, denouncing Jayapal’s trip as “disgraceful” and accusing him of “torture [Trump Derangement Syndrome]” in a statement to Fox News Digital last week.
“Democrats continue to show the American people who they really are, the America Last party that drinks margaritas with terrorists, advocates for illegal criminals, and undermines the United States to help a failed communist regime,” said White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales.
Cuba’s relationship with hostile countries and actors, including Iran and Hezbollah, remains a national security concern, according to the Trump administration. The island’s economic crisis has fueled an increase in immigration to the US in recent years.
Jayapal told Fox News Digital that most Americans would not accept the living conditions of citizens in Cuba if they knew how bad they are.
“The problem with helping people on the ground, babies in the NICU can’t get their incubators to work,” he said. “The lack of food on the island, a lot of other things, it’s a shame, and I really don’t think most Americans would want that.”
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Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel attended a rally in Havana, Cuba, on Jan. 3, 2026, showing solidarity with Venezuela after the US kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela. (Ramon Espinosa/AP)
Jayapal also called for the lifting of the US embargo, the removal of Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and support for legislation to prevent US military action.
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He has previously criticized the Cuban government, which has faced political scrutiny and restrictions on free speech.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.
