Federal officials have served subpoenas to far-left political streamer Hasan Piker and CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin as part of a Treasury Department investigation into whether U.S. organizations and individuals violated American sanctions on Cuba during a March trip connected to the Nuestra America Convoy.
The subpoenas, issued through the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), target activists linked to the caravan effort that arrived in Havana on March 21 with approximately 650 delegates from 33 countries and 120 organizations. Investigators are examining whether sanctions were breached through financing, coordination, delivery of goods, or contacts with Cuban government personnel.
Senator Rick Scott emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating: “These were not quiet academic observers visiting Cuba to study its history. They were high-profile American activists who traveled to a sanctioned communist nation, stayed in luxury accommodations, and ignored political prisoners.” The inquiry focuses on whether participants’ actions—such as delivering 6,000 pounds of aid directly to Cuba’s Ministry of Health—fell within authorized categories under U.S. sanctions law.
According to available records, the CodePink delegation included around 160 people who transported nearly 20 tons of humanitarian supplies to Cuba, including food, medicine, and solar panels. Federal authorities note that subpoenas are administrative requests for information, not criminal charges, but they signal a formal determination that activists’ travel and activities may require compliance with sanctions regulations.
No formal criminal charges have been reported against Piker or Benjamin as of this writing. The Treasury Department’s OFAC explains that such investigations assess whether transactions and contacts align with licensed exemptions under Cuban sanctions policy, where records—including receipts, travel logs, and communications—could determine lawful versus unlawful conduct.