Did Ted Cruz fly to Cancun during the Texas winter disaster?

Photos circulating on Twitter late Wednesday claim to show Texas Senator Ted Cruz on a flight to Cancun, Mexico, during the state’s historic disaster.

The images show a man with a striking resemblance to Cruz at an airport and on an airplane. Cruz’s office did not respond to a request for comment, but this story will be updated if they do. Other reporters said they also reached out but heard nothing.

Some Twitter sleuths claimed to have linked a mask, glasses, ring, tennis shoes and headphones to previous social media posts. In a photo, Cruz’s wife – who has appeared on national television – appears to be standing next to him.

An investigator cited clues from a photo that Cruz posted at 4:10 pm at Houston International Airport, near the terminal for a flight from United to Cancun.

Less than an hour later, UA1020 took off for Cancun and landed at 7:52 PM, according to online flight records.

Still, others thought the photos may have been taken out of context or from a previous trip. Indeed, there is no smoking gun and Cruz has not commented yet.

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Those sharing the photos include a state legislator from the hometown of Cruz, Houston.

“Guess which US Senator flew to Cancun from Texas while the state was freezing to death and boiling water,” said State Representative Gene Wu, D-Houston.

Keith Edwards, a Democratic agent who worked on Senator Jon Ossof’s campaign of Georgia, tweeted that people on the run with Cruz had confirmed to him the veracity of the photos in direct messages.

Nothing on Cruz’s most recent Twitter timeline mentions travel. He has shared resources for the storm, including information on a San Antonio warming center and a request to residents of South Texas to donate blood if they are able to.

Reports of Cruz’s alleged vacation quickly spread on social media, catapulted by Texans’ frozen frustration. That after a failure of the state’s power grid, millions in the state were forced to go for days without sustained power in freezing temperatures. If true, it would make the journey worse for a battered state facing historic disaster.

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