The American political streamer Hasan Piker, one of the most influential voices of the digital left in the U.S., defended his stay in a luxury hotel in Havana amid a crisis that leaves millions of Cubans without electricity, food, or medicine.
Piker, who is part of the so-called “Convoy Our America,” stated that he had no choice regarding where to stay. “The U.S. government prohibits Americans from choosing where to stay when they are in Cuba,” he told his followers, asserting that they were required to stay in five-star hotels.
However, that explanation was quickly challenged on social media, where users pointed out that U.S. legislation prohibits staying in properties linked to the Cuban state apparatus, not in private or lower-cost accommodations.
The controversy is significant. While Piker and other activists broadcast content from facilities with electricity, air conditioning, and a stable internet connection, much of the island experiences blackouts lasting over 20 hours a day, amid one of the worst recent energy collapses.
According to reports from The New York Post and Fox News, some members of the convoy stayed at the Gran Hotel Bristol Meliá Collection, where room rates range from $130 to $520 per night, an unattainable figure for most Cubans.
The New York Post reported that Piker, an ally of New York City’s socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani, broadcasted from Havana to his 1.6 million followers with a “surprisingly flawless” internet connection, while promising to generate “content” during his visit.
The contrast has sparked outrage both inside and outside the island. “This is a huge mockery of the entire Cuban people,” denounced a Cuban exile quoted by the American media, criticizing that foreign activists “admire the misery from a luxury hotel.”
The visit comes at an especially critical time. The national electrical grid has collapsed several times this month, leaving the country virtually in the dark, while the shortage of food, water, and medicines continues to worsen.
Despite the criticism, Piker has openly defended the Cuban government. From the island, he wrote on his account on X that Cuba has “immense potential” and accused the United States of trying to “suffocate and destroy that potential.” He also stated that he had interviewed doctors, scientists, and officials, concluding that “they have lied to us.”
It is not the first time that the streamer has found himself embroiled in Cuban controversy. In 2025, he even canceled a trip to the island out of fear of facing legal consequences in the U.S., despite having expressed admiration for the country and its system. That decision highlighted the contradictions between his political discourse and the real risks associated with Cuba.
Now, his presence in Havana —alongside activists, politicians, and international figures who met with the appointed leader Miguel Díaz-Canel— reignites a debate that touches sensitive spots among Cubans: the gap between the romantic narrative of foreign sectors and the harsh daily reality on the island.
While some visitors speak of "solidarity" and document their experiences for social media, millions of Cubans continue to face endless blackouts, insufficient salaries, and a crisis that many consider worse than that of the 1990s.
And in the midst of that gap, the image of illuminated hotels in a dark city has become, for many, the starkest symbol of that disconnection.
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