MP ABIB RESPONDS TO U.S. SENATOR TED CRUZ: Choose U.S. Principles or Paid Lobby Money
I was born in Hargeisa, hailing from Awdal Region and Gebileh District of Somalia. Since 1998, I have dedicated myself as a private citizen to building Somalia’s future through U.S. government and NGO donations, funding schools, health centers, and establishing two universities in Awdal and Gebileh. I am a proud Somali American citizen who understands the values and responsibilities of both nations, and who has faced life-threatening risks to serve my people.
Today, as a Member of Parliament on the Foreign Affairs Committee representing Awdal and Gebileh, I conduct oversight of ALL U.S.-funded projects in Somalia. My efforts to ensure transparency and accountability were met with obstruction and stonewalling from US Government Officials, and threats – including death threats from corrupt Somali Government officials and their enablers. Yet I persist, because I swore an oath to defend and protect the Somali people.
You, Senator, have also taken an oath, but you treat it as a prop for political theater. You have turned Africa into your personal McCarthyism stage, labeling every challenge as “CCP infiltration.” Senator, your recent rhetoric is nothing more than a replay of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s disgraceful era in American politics. Like McCarthy, you exploit fear, invent enemies, and accuse anyone who disagrees with you of being a tool of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). McCarthy once saw communists in every corner of America; you now pretend to see CCP infiltrators in every corner of Africa. Both are cheap excuses used to mask political weakness and to distract people from a lack of real solutions.
You are not speaking for Texas families, ranchers, or workers who voted for you. You are using your Senate platform to stockpile panic and conspiracy so that you can fill your campaign coffers with PAC donations from lobbyists and special interest groups. The truth is you have nothing tangible to offer your constituents or Africa. Instead of supporting genuine U.S. investment that creates jobs and stabilizes regions, you manufacture false CCP panic narratives to keep yourself in the headlines.
Senator, you claimed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is “using economic and diplomatic coercion” against the Hargeisa Regime because of its support for Taiwan. This narrative is politically convenient for your domestic fundraising and PAC-related electioneering, but it is factually false and strategically dangerous for U.S. foreign policy in the Horn of Africa. If I were President Xi Jinping of China, I too would oppose Taiwan’s expansion of diplomatic representation in Africa – because that is China’s well-known and long-standing US One-China Policy. That dispute is between China and Taiwan, not a war waged against a “brave democratic ally” as you romanticize. The CCP is not at war with the people of northern Somalia – it is pursuing a global diplomatic stance that has nothing to do with whether the Hargeisa Regime deserve recognition.
In fact, the Hargeisa Regime openly contradicts your narrative – with more than 30 Chinese companies have been formally invited and are currently investing in Hargeisa and other parts of the breakaway region, The Hargeisa Regime imports over $1 billion worth of goods from mainland China annually, while virtually nothing comes from the United States, and these economic ties show that China is not waging economic war or any other war on Hargeisa – in reality, the relationship is commercially thriving.
Senator, your assertion that recognition is necessary because of CCP “punishment” is therefore baseless. It ignores the Hargeisa Regime’s systematic human rights abuses, widespread corruption, and ethnic persecution – including its ongoing atrocities in Las Anod, where its forces have committed crimes against humanity targeting the Dhulbahante people.
Furthermore, your statement fails to acknowledge that the Hargeisa Regime is not a pluralistic democracy but rather a one-clan secessionist authority that arbitrarily arrests opposition leaders, journalists, and even elected Members of Parliament such as Mohamed Abib, despite their constitutional immunity, misappropriates World Bank development funds and sells U.S. taxpayer-funded humanitarian aid openly in local markets instead of delivering it to those in need, and has destabilized the region through illegal armed offensives, including the displacement of over 200,000 civilians from Las Anod.
Recognition of such a Regime would reward corruption, ethnic cleansing, and the destruction of the Somali state, while undermining long-standing U.S. policy that supports the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Somalia – a policy reaffirmed by every U.S. administration, Republican and Democrat, since 1960.
Your belief that this one-tribe secessionist administration will bring security and counterterrorism stability is equally misguided. This is not the reality on the ground – it is the fiction sold to you by lobbyists seeking to cash in on U.S. foreign policy rhetoric. Similarly, no Somali citizen will ever accept a deal such as the so-called Abraham Accords while the Palestinian issue remains unresolved. This same Hargeisa Regime who can’t feed its own over 450,000 internally displaced persons (UN OCHA Somalia, 2025) in Hargeisa alone, now claims it can host 100,000 Palestinian refugees from Gaza by signing the Abraham Accord. Your endorsement of this fantasy is delusional, politically motivated, and morally bankrupt.
The far-right wing of your party, which you represent, has consistently cut development budgets and reduced U.S. investment in Africa. This neglect created the vacuum that President Xi of China took advantage through his Belt and Road Initiative – a strategy that many African leaders now embrace. Your approach assumes that African nations will wait indefinitely for U.S. engagement, but that thinking has already failed. The problem is not Beijing’s opportunism – it is Washington’s disengagement in Africa.
Your obsession with CCP hysteria is a façade. Africa did not “fall to China”; it was abandoned by your domestic political grandstanding. Your PAC-funded obsession with “anti-China” narratives ignores the reality on the ground. A good example – Djibouti, after September 11, 2001, invited the U.S. to establish a military base. America accepted. But when Djibouti requested development assistance – schools, hospitals, roads, ports – your colleagues in Washington slashed budgets, dismissed Djibouti needs, and turned their backs. Forced by U.S. neglect, Djibouti turned to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing provided infrastructure, development, and eventually a military base.
Is that “CCP infiltration”? No, Senator – it is the direct consequence of your shortsighted, racially blind, and ideologically rigid policies. If these citizens in Africa were white Anglo-Saxon Europeans, aid would have doubled, not cut. Your explanation of “China” is a convenient political cover for your failures.
Your understanding of Africa is narrow and superficial. You face no risk, yet you manufacture enemies to maintain political relevance. I, by contrast, live daily with threats to my life, facing both Somali corruption and foreign exploitation. Unlike you, my service, my oath, and my struggle are real.
The historical record is clear – the so-called “British Somaliland Protectorate” was never a sovereign state. It was a temporary British colonial administration with diverse communities – Gadabursi, Isse, Dhulbahante, Isaaq, Warsangali, and marginalized groups such as Midhiban, Tumal, and Yibir. These communities moved freely across Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. The 1960 colonial border was administrative, not sovereign. The artificial colonial borders you cite explain why Dhulbahante and Warsangali communities reject the Hargeisa secessionist project and remain committed to a united Somalia. Similarly, Awdal Region and Gabiley District communities increasingly resist Isaaq-dominated exclusion and assert their own paths toward unity. As of yesterday, I have been told by Senior Advisor of the President of Republic of Somalia is working on fast-track process of establishing Awdal State of Somalia as newest Federal Member State. If you and others who believe in this fantasy want to recognize Berbera – Hargeisa – Buroa as Independent Country, then go ahead and no one will stop you. This will be the first time on world stage that US recognized as sovereign state one-tribe secessionist Regime.
Your recognition of this entity violates Somali sovereignty, international law, and U.S. commitments. Your misunderstanding of Somalia is equally catastrophic. Your support for this Regime is morally indefensible and legally reckless. It mirrors the shameful record of U.S. senators like Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond, who defended apartheid South Africa under the guise of “strategic necessity.” Today, you recycle that same lie – cloaking one-clan domination as anti-China strategic policy, while ignoring documented human rights violations.
The Hargeisa Regime has committed atrocities against Dhulbahante populations, in hand of Rapid Reaction Units RRU and funded by UK- and U.S. documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. By endorsing this one-clan secessionist project, you disregard the voices of Dhulbahante, Warsangali, Gadabursi, and Isse, undermine Somalia’s unity, sovereignty, and democracy, encourage external lobbyists and PACs to manipulate U.S. policy for personal gain, and risk international destabilization in the Horn of Africa.
Senator, I am not merely accusing you of constructing fantasy soundbites and false narratives to advance a political agenda in Washington; I am stating a fact that has been publicly acknowledged even by President Donald J. Trump. On February 15, 2016, President Donald J. Trump, during the Republican primaries, issued a pointed statement directly targeting you, declaring that you were “a totally unstable individual” and “the single biggest liar I’ve ever come across, in politics or otherwise, and I have seen some of the best of them.” President Trump further stated that your assertions were “totally untrue and completely outrageous”, and he threatened legal action if you did not retract false statements regarding your presidential eligibility.
This historical record underscores a long-standing pattern – statements crafted to mislead or manipulate audiences, often for political gain or financial advantage. The very same tactics are evident in your letter advocating recognition of the Hargeisa Regime. By recycling fantastical narratives – misrepresenting CCP activity, exaggerating Hargeisa’s Regime governance, and fabricating security contributions – you continue a pattern of misleading, lobbyist-driven claims that serve private agendas rather than U.S. strategic interests or African stability.
Your advocacy for Hargeisa’s Regime recognition is not occurring in a vacuum. It is influenced by a network of foreign lobbyists and financial interests with deep ties to your political career such as Stonington Global – Founded by your former aide, Nicolas Muzin, Stonington Global has secured significant lobbying contracts, including a $750,000 deal with Maxsip Telecom in 2024. The firm is recognized as one of the fastest-growing lobbying entities in Washington, D.C., Taiwan’s Influence – Reports indicate that Taiwan has provided millions of dollars in direct aid and lobbying contracts to firms and individuals tasked with promoting Hargeisa’s Regime cause in the U.S., and Axiom Strategies – Your close association with Axiom Strategies, described as your “Karl Rove,” raises questions about the overlap between your political consulting firm and foreign lobbying efforts.
These financial interests are not abstract; they have real-world implications for the Somali people. The push for Hargeisa’s Regime recognition is not solely geopolitics; it is about financial gain and political leverage.
As an elected Somali parliamentarian who works day and night to build genuine U.S.–Somalia relations, I challenge you to defend your assertions publicly. I am ready and willing to debate with you on any platform of your choosing – Fox News, CNN, or any other credible venue – in Washington, D.C., at any date and time you select. This debate will allow the American public, U.S. policymakers, and the Somali diaspora to see, once and for all, that your arguments for recognizing a one-tribe secessionist Regime are fantasy, misleading, and dangerous.
I await your response and your proposal for a mutually agreed-upon venue and date. Your avoidance of public scrutiny to date suggests that you may not have considered the consequences of your statements carefully, but I am prepared to expose the full reality of Hargeisa’s Regime governance, human rights record, and economic activities before the world.
Senator, if your advocacy for this secessionist Regime is genuine, I invite you to prove it in a live, substantive debate. If it is purely for lobbying, PAC fundraising, and anti-China political sound bites, I am equally prepared to demonstrate that to your constituents and the American public. During the debate you can bring the following people and organizations that have spread this fantasy narratives for past 34 years such as Representative Scott Perry (R–PA), Representative Thomas P. Tiffany (R–WI), Representative Andrew Ogles (R–TN), Representative Pat Harrigan (R–NC), Representative Tim Burchett (R–TN), Representative John W. Rose (R–TN) Mr. Tibor Nagy, Dr. J. Peter Pham, Mr. Michael Rubin, Mr. Joshua Meservey, FGS Global (US) LLC, Somaliland Mission USA, LLC, The Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, and Atlantic Council.
Somalia will remain united. Your political theater, your fearmongering, and your lobbyist-driven support for secession will not change that. History will judge your actions as reckless, opportunistic, and morally bankrupt – just as it judged McCarthy, Helms, and Thurmond.
END
Dr. Abdillahi Hashi Abib – BA, MA, MASc, Ph.D
Member of Foreign Affairs Committee
Federal Republic of Somalia the House of People
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