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The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued subpoenas against political influencer Hasan Piker and the co-founder of CodePink, Susan Medea Benjamin, as part of a federal investigation into possible violations of sanctions against Cuba, as revealed exclusively by Fox News Digital.
The investigation examines whether activists who traveled to Cuba in March 2026 funded, coordinated, or delivered prohibited goods to the Cuban regime, which could constitute a violation of current sanctions laws administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The case could remain in the civil context under OFAC or advance to a criminal process under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The citations are linked to the so-called "Convoy Nuestra América," an international caravan that traveled to Cuba between March 18 and March 24, bringing together 650 delegates from 33 countries and 120 organizations.
CodePink organized the transfer of about 100 participants from Miami at a cost of 1,600 dollars per person, and the delegation delivered approximately 6,300 pounds of medicines worth 433,000 dollars to the regime in Havana.
Among the participants of the convoy were former British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Spanish politician Pablo Iglesias, and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
Researchers are analyzing whether some participants stayed in hotels included in the “Cuba Restricted List” from the State Department, which identifies entities linked to the Cuban government with which U.S. citizens are prohibited from engaging in transactions.
The citation of Piker and Benjamin comes just one day after it was revealed that the Department of Justice and the Treasury are investigating 145 pro-Cuba organizations with reported combined revenues of approximately $1 billion annually for alleged coordination with the Cuban regime.
This broader investigation examines about 40 American citizens for their involvement in the "convoys" and "flotillas" of aid to Cuba during 2026.
Piker's visit to Cuba had already sparked significant controversy in March when images surfaced of him wearing an outfit valued at around 5,000 dollars —which included Cartier glasses and rings costing between 4,000 and 6,000 dollars— in a country experiencing a severe energy crisis with blackouts affecting up to 90% of Havana.
The streamer responded to the criticism on Twitch arguing, "Do you think the price of this shirt is the reason why Cubans are suffering?"
The congresswoman María Elvira Salazar denounced the hypocrisy of the activists who stayed in luxury hotels while Cubans suffered through the crisis.
The Miami-Dade Commission approved a unanimous resolution in April condemning the groups that engaged in "tourism" in Cuba during the humanitarian crisis.
The host Bill Maher also harshly criticized the activists from CodePink for their trip to Cuba and for attributing Cuban poverty solely to U.S. sanctions.
The investigation is framed within the maximum pressure policy of the Trump administration toward the Cuban regime, which includes the reinstatement of Cuba to the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism and, concurrently, the formal accusation against Raúl Castro.
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