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Back in March, socialist rich kid Hasan Piker traveled down to Cuba with his pals to try to do an end run around the United States' blockade of the tiny communist nation. He went along with CodePink, a far-left anti-Israel group, as well as the daughter of Minnesota Rep Ilhan Omar, Isra Hirsi. They painted murals, they dropped off donated goods, and they partied in a luxurious resort as the rest of the island faced an ongoing blackout due to a lack of fuel.
Now, Piker and CodePink co-founder Susan Medea Benjamin, who went on the trip, are being probed by the Trump administration's Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. "I'm not gonna lie to you guys, it's not great," he told followers on a stream after the revelation of the investigation.
"The news is not great, Okay? I mean, it’s bullsh*t," he said, "but still not great that they’re after your boy. They’re up my ass." The question from the Treasury is whether or not these groups were in violation of US law by "supporting Cuba's communist regime." The group took the trip after the US had indicted and ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
The US also prevented oil tankers from bringing fuel to Cuba. Since then, the US has indicted former Cuban leader Raúl Castro for shooting down American private planes on a humanitarian mission in the 1990s. The prevention of the tankers from delivering fuel was the primary cause for Piker and Benjamin's trip. It even caused climate activist Greta Thunberg to demand that oil be delivered to the island nation—despite her years of advocacy opposing fossil fuels.
Treasury is also looking into whether or not Piker and Benjamin have contact with Cuban government leaders. Piker and Medea Benjamin have been served with administrative subpoenas and not criminal ones, indicating that the investigation is in an exploratory phase.
As he spoke about the probe during his stream, the audience began saying "free me." "Free me, free me," he responded. "I can’t believe I’m saying that." Piker has been making campaign stops with Democratic candidates and has become a darling of the left. This is despite his strongly anti-American views and advocacy for stealing. He has also said the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was justified by intoning the Marxist concept of "social murder."
Libby