The popular American streamer Hasan Piker, known online as HasanAbi, confirmed that he canceled his trip to Cuba out of fear of facing legal repercussions in the United States. “I didn't want to go to prison,” stated the content creator, as reported by the specialized media SportSkeeda.
The news came as a surprise, especially after HasanAbi himself had expressed his enthusiasm for visiting Cuba in several recent streams.
In a program broadcast on the YouTube channel Fear& Clips, HasanAbi revealed that the Cuban government, through an intermediary, offered to resolve the internet access issue to facilitate his visit, a gesture that contrasts sharply with the daily reality of millions of Cubans who suffer from power outages and have poor connections.
The streamer recalled that he had been on the island years ago with a student visa, when he filmed a documentary, played street baseball, and lived on an urban farm.
"Cuba is amazing. I had a great time the first time I went. I even thought about returning for May 1st," he said during that broadcast, where he also defended the medical mission system of the island in the face of the U.S. embargo, but he did not address the conditions of repression, poverty, and lack of freedoms that the Cubans suffer from.
However, the final decision was different. HasanAbi confessed that after being interrogated at the border upon returning from France, he became convinced that a trip to Cuba could be used against him, highlighting the political cost of traveling to and admiring a country governed by a regime known for imprisoning opponents, censoring, and criminalizing social protest.
“They explained to me that they are very well informed about who I am and what I do,” he later shared in an interview with , where he suggested that he might be under surveillance by federal agencies.
His praises for Cuba
In another space, the channel Socialist Hub, HasanAbi described the inclusion of Cuba on Washington's list of state sponsors of terrorism as “cruel and inhumane.”
The United States has committed more terrorism against Cuba than Cuba has against anyone else, he stated, advocating for the need to lift sanctions and facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid to the island.
He also commented that the decision by the Biden administration to remove Cuba from that list was a positive one, although he warned that Donald Trump could easily reverse it, as he ultimately did.
HasanAbi, 34 years old, is one of the most followed political streamers in the world, with over 2.9 million followers on Twitch. He was recently included by Rolling Stone in the list of the 25 most influential creators of 2025.
According to the profile published by GQ, he dedicates long hours to commenting on news live, criticizing Trump, Israel, and also the Democrats, which has earned him enemies on various fronts.
Son of a Turkish academic and nephew of the founder of the progressive channel The Young Turks, HasanAbi has built an influential digital community among leftist youth in the United States. His direct, unfiltered, and provocative style has made him a figure both loved and hated in equal measure.
Cuba and Miami, a sensitive wound
In his broadcasts, the streamer also joked about the contrast between Cuba and the exile community in Miami, aware that he could provoke criticism. “What worries me is not the Cubans in Cuba, but the Cubans in Miami,” he said ironically in Fear& Clips.
That comment reflects the tension that still arises with any mention of the island among different Cuban communities, both within the country and in exile.
The story of HasanAbi highlights the contradictions surrounding Cuba in the international imagination. On one hand, there is the cultural and political appeal it generates among progressive sectors; on the other, there is a real fear of legal consequences and silence in the face of human rights violations.
The streamer who dreamed of celebrating May 1st in Havana ultimately admitted that it was too risky. A confession that exposes the paradox in which Cuba continues to be, for some, a romantic symbol of resistance, but for others, including Cubans themselves, it is synonymous with surveillance, repression, and punishment for thinking differently.
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