Twitch Streamer Hasan Piker Subpoenaed by U.S. Treasury Over Cuba Aid Trip
Hasan Piker, one of Twitch's largest political streamers, has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Treasury Department over his participation in a March aid trip to Cuba — a development he is calling an "intimidation tactic" by the federal government.
The subpoena was issued by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, known as OFAC, and was first reported by Fox News. It relates to Piker's participation in the "Nuestra América Convoy" — or "Our America Convoy" — a mission organized by anti-war group CodePink in which approximately 40 U.S. nationals traveled to Cuba and delivered supplies. CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin was also subpoenaed as part of the same investigation, though Benjamin said in a statement to HuffPost that she had not yet been formally served and that one was perhaps on the way.
Piker pushed back immediately. "The American government would rather try to criminalize delivering aid to a country we've starved, than punish the Epstein class," he wrote Saturday on X. He also said on his Twitch stream Sunday that before traveling to Cuba, he had cleared the trip with OFAC — the very office that issued the subpoenas — and characterized the investigation as an attempt to intimidate him rather than a legitimate legal proceeding.
What the Investigation Is Looking At
Sources familiar with the matter told Fox News that the subpoenas are Requests for Information designed to gather communications, financial records, and logistical details related to the Cuba trip. Federal investigators are examining whether Piker, Benjamin, and others in the group violated U.S. sanctions laws by financing, coordinating, or delivering goods to Cuba — and whether any of them had contact with Cuban government personnel or entities, which would be a separate potential violation.
Legal experts told Fox News Digital that the subpoenas could determine whether the matter is pursued as a criminal case under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or remains a civil sanctions matter. A subpoena does not constitute criminal charges — it is a legal tool to compel the production of information — but the investigation itself signals the government's interest in pursuing the case further.
More subpoenas are expected, according to Fox News. Among those under scrutiny is Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Investigators are examining whether Omar may have funded her daughter's travel to Cuba. Omar did not respond to a request for comment.
The Broader Context
The investigation is part of a wider push by the Trump administration to scrutinize American activists and organizations with ties to Cuba.
The administration imposed a blockade on Cuba in February, cutting off oil tanker access to the island. Last week, the Justice Department indicted 94-year-old former Cuban President Raúl Castro — a move Piker called a "sham" with "no legal standing" on his Twitch stream. The administration has also signaled it will investigate nonprofit organizations it views as sympathetic to Cuba.
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