Possible Prison for Hasan Piker Over Cuba Trip
On March 20, 2026, the anti-war group CodePink and roughly 140 activists flew from Miami to Havana with about 6,300 pounds of medical supplies. Weeks later, Twitch streamer Hasan Piker and longtime activist Medea Benjamin reportedly received subpoenas from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The reported issue isn’t what anyone said in Cuba — it’s where they stayed. Piker is reported to have stayed at the Gran Hotel Bristol in Old Havana, a property on the U.S. Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List, owned by Gaviota, the tourism arm of GAESA — the business empire the Cuban armed forces control.
Everyone reached for the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the First Amendment. But there is no reported angle about taking direction or orders from a foreign government — so this isn’t a FARA case, and it isn’t about anyone’s opinions or media business. Lodging at a listed property is prohibited under 31 C.F.R. § 515.210 and is expressly not authorized by a “Support for the Cuban People” license. On the civil side, sanctions are close to strict liability — intent barely matters to whether a violation occurred. Criminal exposure turns on willfulness, which is referred to the Justice Department, and where the statutory ceiling is steep. The question investigators ask isn’t what Hasan Piker believes about Cuba. It’s whether he knew the rules applied and proceeded anyway. You are free to say whatever you want — you are not free to finance a foreign military with your tourist dollars.
Eric Garland is an intelligence analyst personally sanctioned by the Russian Federation in May 2022 for his work on Russian intelligence operations. He is the author of the 2016 “Game Theory” thread, named by The New York Times as one of the 25 most important tweets in history.
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SOURCES
U.S. Department of State — Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List (updated July 14, 2025)
Cuban Assets Control Regulations — 31 C.F.R. § 515.210 (lodging restrictions); 31 C.F.R. § 515.574 (Support for the Cuban People general license)
Trading with the Enemy Act — 50 U.S.C. § 4315 (offenses; penalties)
OFAC v. Voices in the Wilderness, 329 F. Supp. 2d 71 (D.D.C. 2004)
CODEPINK — delegation press release, March 20, 2026
Fox News Digital (Asra Nomani) — reporting on OFAC subpoenas, May 23, 2026
