A U.S. congressman has been criticized for meeting with Russians — a billboard has appeared in his district
A billboard criticizing U.S. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez was erected in his district in Texas following his meeting with Russian lawmakers in Washington. The incident sparked a wave of outrage among politicians and pro-Ukrainian organizations.
The politician’s silence regarding his contacts with the sanctioned Russian delegation was brought to light in his own district.
This was reported with reference to the Ukrainian community in the U.S., Razom for Ukraine.
The billboard features a message in Spanish: “Mr. Gonzalez, why are you meeting with Putin’s supporters?” It was placed in the politician’s district, located near the border with Mexico, where a significant portion of the population is Spanish-speaking or bilingual.
Vicente Gonzalez was the only representative of the U.S. Democratic Party to attend the reception for the Russian delegation. The event was organized by Republican Anna-Paulina Luna. Following this, the meeting’s participants faced sharp criticism—from other lawmakers, journalists, and representatives of Ukrainian organizations in the U.S.
One of the statements released after the meeting noted: “No member of Congress—regardless of party—should meet with Kremlin delegations. This might be expected from fringe figures, but Gonzalez’s participation created the illusion of bipartisan legitimization of Russian war criminals in Congress.”
For several weeks after the incident, representatives of the Ukrainian community in the U.S. sought an explanation from the congressman regarding his reasons for participating in the meeting with sanctioned Russian representatives. However, no response was forthcoming.
As a result, as the campaign’s organizers note, they decided to bring the issue into the public sphere directly in Gonzalez’s district—to draw his attention and elicit a reaction from local voters.
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