House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and a group of fellow House Democrats landed in Cuba today as part of the first official House of Representatives delegation trip to the country since President Obama in December announced sweeping changes to U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Pelosi in a statement said the delegation traveled to Cuba “in friendship and to build upon the announcement of U.S. normalization of relations and other initiatives announced by President Obama.”
She said the delegation would look to advance the U.S.-Cuba relationship, building on congressional efforts over the years, particularly in agriculture and trade.
Pelosi’s office said the group will meet with Cuban government officials, Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, “local community leaders and representatives,” and American officials at the U.S. Interests Section.
The lawmakers on the trip include Reps. Eliot Engel, D-NY; Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.; Collin Peterson, D-Minn.; Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.,; Nydia Velázquez, D-NY; Jim McGovern, D-Mass.; Steve Israel, D-NY; and David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island.
The trip comes as the State Department said it will hold a second round of talks in Washington next week aimed at restoring diplomatic relations. The first took place last month in Havana.
And it comes as a group of senators returned to the U.S. on Tuesday from Cuba, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., calling Obama’s move an “historic opportunity to modernize our country’s relationship with Cuba.”
Klobuchar, who was joined by Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Mark Warner, D-Va., has introduced legislation that would lift the trade embargo against Cuba.
She called the trip “a chance to meet with Cuban agriculture and export officials to explore ways we can modernize relations between our two countries and create new economic opportunities for farmers and businesses in Minnesota and across the country.”