Hasan Piker says he is required by law to stay at five star hotels in Cuba while the local population struggles with basic needs – but he isn't.
Politics influencer and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker is currently staying in a five star hotel in Cuba while locals suffer electric outages and recource-restrictions. Now he tries to justify this by claiming the government made him stay in a luxury hotel.
Poor Hasan
Hasan "HasanAbi" Piker is an influential voice for the digital Left in America. He is currently staying in Cuba with the "Nuestra America Convoi" – hundreds of left Americans and Europeans that want to meet with Communist Party officials and hand out 20 tons of humanitarian aid to protest the United States oil blockade on Cuba. The activists are staying in five star hotels like the Gran Hotel Bristol Meliá Collection, with air conditioning and luxury accommodations, where one room costs 130 to 520 dollars while locals are suffering a worsening economic crisis that's starved them of electricity, food, water and medicine.
Hasan now tried to justify this by broadcasting himself, lamenting the fact he had to stay in a five star hotel.
The government has very limited resources and the American government makes it illegal for Americans to stay wherever they want when they're in Cuba. They have to stay in what they've declared as five star hotels.
Although he implies that the hotels aren't that great and luxurious for a five star hotel, they are, in comparison to the rest of the island, very luxurious – and poor Hasan feels sorry for everyone else.
In comparison to the situation on the island, it's prosperity pretty much and experiencing that dichotomy has like definitely [messed] me up… definitely.
Breaking news: Influencer experiences the divide between rich and poor or luxury and the struggle for basic needs and feels bad. Only, he is part of the problem.
Hasan explains why he's staying in a "5-star hotel" in Cuba
— bloom (@bloomjpg) March 21, 2026
"The American government makes it illegal for Americans to stay wherever they want when they're in Cuba.."
"Whenever I come back, I'll probably not abide by the American restrictions" pic.twitter.com/6HNcnG6AEI
About The Hotels
The thing is, it isn't prohibited for Americans to stay in anything less than a five star hotel. American tourists are prohibited from staying in hotels that are directly supported or owned by the government, no matter the rating. The U.S.government published a list of hotels and other Cuban companies that American travelers are barred from supporting. Nothing in there implies tourists can only stay at five star star hotels.
But there are many privately owned hotels and accomodations in a wide range of prices in Cuba that American tourists are more than welcome to stay at: hotels, bed&breakfasts, rentals, Airbnbs, etc... And by booking these, you are also supporting the Cuban private sector and small, often family-run businesses. Your money goes directly to the people who need it – the people Hasan feels so bad for.
The Backlash
People are enraged by Hasans actions, not only because he lied to try to make himself seem better and not part of the problem, but also because he in fact is part of the problem.
The whole convoy, which Hasan is a part of, is the subject of intense criticism. Activists going to Cuba under the guise of helping and bringing supplies, travelling in air-conditioned busses and staying in luxury hotels while the local population is struggling with basic needs seems like a bad dystopian movie. While Piker and other activists broadcast content from facilities with electricity, air-conditioning and stable internet, much of the island is experiencing power outages lasting over 20 hours a day during one of the worst energy crises in recent memory. One in exile living Cuban woman remarked to the New York Post:
This is a gigantic mockery of the entire Cuban people. The left visits Cuba as if it were a party at a zoo and they go to admire the misery from a luxury hotel. It is outrageous.
So maybe it's a good thing that this "dichotomy" messed Hasan up – it should. Maybe instead of lying to try to save his neck, he could actually start to reflect his behaviour.
