It has been revealed that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) traveled in November 2017 to Honduras as part of a delegation sponsored by the radical Witness for Peace group.
The organization was formed during the Reagan administration to oppose U.S. policies aimed to stop the spread of communism, it also supports Cuban and Venezuelan socialism.
Trevor Loudon, an expert on Marxist groups and the radical left who is a contributor to The Epoch Times, said the group has been supporting revolutionary movements in Latin America since the Reagan era.
“Witness for Peace was there trying to help the revolutionary groups that the American government was trying to suppress. They were working directly to help foreign enemies of America against this country,” he said.
“[They were] sort of an alliance of the religious left, the hard Marxist left, Latin America’s revolutionary movements who are militantly opposed to America.”
He said it was concerning that Omar attended the travel delegation not long before she was elected to Congress and while she was serving in the Minnesota state legislature.
“Ilhan Omar is connected to many socialist groups in Minnesota but this one is international in scope and very well connected to active revolutionary movements who are working to cause trouble in America,” he said.
Board Members Ties With Socialist Groups
Loudon also said many people associated with the group, such as board member Jeanette Charles, have overt ties with Marxists groups and organizations.“She’s on their board, she’s a member of LeftRoots, which is a front for the freedom socialist organization, [and] she’s openly Marxist, as most of the other people [are],” he said.
Like Charles, board member Eunice Escobar is listed to also work for the Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network (ACSN) and the Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN).
The revelation comes after Omar received backlash for perpetuating antisemitic tropes earlier this month. In her comments, she implied a prominent pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), paid off lawmakers for their support of Israel.
Her comments were condemned by both Democrats and Republicans and she subsequently apologized for the social media posts but have not taken them down.
Meanwhile, she also came under fire for attempting to grill the special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, during a House hearing on the Caracas crisis on Feb. 13 and was also criticized for accusing the United States of leading a “coup” against Maduro.