A large international delegation known as the Nuestra América Convoy has arrived in Havana, Cuba, delivering around 20 tons of humanitarian aid to the island amid ongoing US sanctions. The group, comprising over 600 people from 33 countries and 120 organizations, includes figures such as Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and others protesting what they describe as a US economic blockade. The visit coincides with recent US actions, including a takeover of Venezuela's oil business and Executive Order 14380 issued on January 29.
The Nuestra América Convoy reached Havana this week, bringing medicine, food, and other supplies to address shortages exacerbated by blackouts and US sanctions. Hasan Piker, a Twitch streamer, joined the effort after attending the Vanity Fair Oscars party. He told host Mary Harris on the What Next podcast that around 600 participants, including diplomats, activists, journalists, and content creators, aimed to deliver aid and investigate the blockade's impact. Piker interviewed independent journalists from Belly of the Beast, doctors like neuroscientist Mitchell Valdés-Sosa—who contributed to a dementia treatment now in Phase 3 trials in Canada—and ordinary Cubans such as cab drivers about hardships from sanctions versus government policies. He dismissed criticisms of staying in a five-star hotel, emphasizing the trip's scale and purpose. Other participants included UK figures Jeremy Corbyn, Richard Burgon, and YouTuber Owen Jones; US activist Christian Smalls; the anti-war group CODEPINK; and Isra Hirsi, daughter of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Piker described to reporters, “We have just been living la vida loca … Just peppering people with wads of cash.” The convoy protests measures like the US seizure of Venezuela's oil in January, which cut supplies to Cuba, and President Trump's Executive Order 14380 on January 29, declaring Cuba's government an “unusual and extraordinary threat” and announcing a national emergency. Meanwhile, some Cubans in Morón have chanted “Down with communism!” outside Communist Party headquarters amid blackouts and breadlines in cities like Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Trinidad.
