House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is headed to Cuba with an all-Democrat congressional delegation, her aides announced Tuesday.
According to her aides, Pelosi and the lawmakers will arrive some time Tuesday to become “the first official House of Representatives delegation trip” since Obama moved to normalize relations with Cuba.
Eight lawmakers are traveling with Pelosi, including Reps. Eliot Engel, of New York, who is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Collin Peterson, of Minnesota, who is the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee.
Pelosi aides said the group will meet with “Cuban government officials,” as well as Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, local community leaders and representatives and American officials stationed in the country.
Many Republicans have expressed opposition to normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba because of the significant history of human rights violations by government officials and the tight control over its citizens.
“This delegation travels to Cuba in friendship and to build upon the announcement of U.S. normalization of relations and other initiatives announced by President Obama,” Pelosi said. “This delegation will work to advance the U.S.-Cuba relationship and build on the work done by many in the Congress over the years, especially with respect to agriculture and trade.”
