Americas

Republicans have criticized Beyonce and Jay-Z for the trip to Cuba.

“No one is above the law even if you are the diva Beyoncé," said the GOP lawmaker.

Treasury declined to comment on whether the celebrities had a license to travel to Cuba.

Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart are concerned the trip may have violated a ban on "tourist activities."

The leaked cable, signed by then-Ambassador William Brownfield, outlines a five-point strategy for undermining Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.

The Obama administration supports the growing calls for an international probe into the deaths of two Cuban democracy activists last year, the State Department said Thursday. 

The declaration follows growing pressure from Congress for an investigation into the death of Oswaldo Payá, who was killed along with fellow activist Harold Cepero in a July 22 car wreck. The driver, Spaniard Ángel Carromero, was charged with vehicular manslaughter before being released to Spain; he has since declared that he was forced off the road by a car with government license plates.

“The United States supports the calls for an international investigation with independent international observers into the circumstances leading to the deaths of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero in Cuba,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Thursday. “The people of Cuba and the families of these two activists deserve a clear, credible accounting of the events that resulted in their tragic deaths. The United States will continue to advocate for the rights of all Cubans to speak out of defense of human rights and democracy.”

President Obama vowed Wednesday to use his second term to push forward a “positive agenda” with Latin America, a region that often gets short shrift compared to fast-growing Asia or the turbulent Middle East.

Obama made the remarks on Telemundo just as the White House announced that the president would be making the second trip of his second term to Mexico and Costa Rica after visiting Israel, Jordan and the West Bank earlier this month. The May 2 – 4 trip will be a chance to meet with all the leaders of Central America at the invitation of Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla. Read more...

The trip comes as the U.S. is working on an immigration reform plan that could benefit Mexicans living here illegally.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding that the Organization of American States launch an investigation into the death of Cuban activist Oswaldo Payá last year.

The call follows accusations that the car Payá was riding in was forced off the road by a car with government license plates. His daughter urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to open an investigation earlier this month. 

“Oswaldo Payá was a brave man trying to peacefully advocate for greater political freedom for his fellow Cuban brothers and sisters,” the senators wrote in a letter to Emilio Álvarez Icaza, the executive secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. “It increasingly looks like he paid for that effort with his life. His memory and his family deserve an honest and independent accounting of what happened.”

Rep. Gregory Meeks represented the United States at Hugo Chavez's funeral and was the only U.S. lawmaker to attend.