The state of Texas has been battered by a winter storm that pushed the state's power grid to the brink of collapse and millions of residents submerged into darkness without electricity amid freezing temperatures.
Biden declared a state of emergency in all 254 counties of the state where as many as 21 people have died and millions are struggling to cope with the lack of power and frigid conditions.
Amid the statewide emergency, Texas state representative Gene Wu took to Twitter to share photos of Texas senator Ted Cruz on board an airplane, claiming the senator was on his way to Cancun while his state was "freezing."
"Guess which US Senator from Texas flew to Cancun while the state was freezing to death and having to boil water?," Wu captioned the image.
Other social media users also shared additional evidence of the Republican senator at the Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport on Wednesday.
Cruz drew intense criticism on social media after the images went viral. "Ted Cruz fleeing Texas to Cancún while 60% of the people have no access to electricity and running water," wrote one user, while another commented, "Texas is in the worst energy crisis in the history of the state with millions of its constituents freezing without heat or electricity and @tedcruz is vacationing in Mexico."
Internet Sleuths Pile Up the Evidence
The posts racked up hundreds of comments with some users claiming the man in the photo was not Cruz so internet sleuths decided to prove them wrong and immediately got to work.
One user pointed out that the mask worn by the man spotted at the airport was identical to the one Cruz donned during Trump's second impeachment trial.
Meanwhile, other users shared images of the individual accompanied with a woman and daughter who bore a striking resemblance to Cruz's wife and their daughter.
A digital clock in the background of one of the images revealed that the photo was captured at 4:10 p.m. in front of a United check-in counter.
According to flight-tracking website, FlightAware, there was a 4:45 p.m. United Airlines flight that departed from Houston's international airport and arrived in Cancun at 7:52 p.m. on Wednesday. He was also spotted without a mask by a fellow traveller in the United lounge before his flight.
All the evidence does seem to point that Cruz did, in fact, board a flight to Mexico with his family. However, we have reached out to his office for comment and will update the story as it develops.
