Left-wing influencer downplays Cuba blackouts, worsening shortages: ‘People are partying’
Hasan Piker, a progressive media personality and streamer, downplayed the severity of rolling blackouts in Cuba while on a recent trip to the communist island, telling viewers that the population...
By Fox News · Fox News
Hasan Piker, a progressive media personality and streamer, downplayed the severity of rolling blackouts in Cuba while on a recent trip to the communist island, telling viewers that the population was "partying." "There are rolling blackouts that take place throughout the day, every day, all around the country. But today is a beautiful day out here. People are partying. People are partying in the f---ing streets. I don’t know if it’s an island mindset," Piker said. The remarks come as U.S. officials warn the island faces a deepening energy crisis, highlighting a stark divide between firsthand accounts and government assessments. Piker, who has supported self-declared progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, praised the Cubans for their endurance. "The people’s resilience is remarkable. There are rolling blackouts that take place throughout the day, every day, all around the country, right? 11 million people." POST-MADURO, PRESSURE BUILDS ON MEXICO OVER CUBA’S NEW OIL LIFELINE Piker’s descriptions come as Cuba’s communist regime finds itself choked off from access to energy imports after a U.S. operation in Venezuela resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. According to the Department of State, Cuba began to experience energy shortages shortly afterward. "Understand that Cuba has largely survived on the basis of subsidies. The Maduro regime was providing them fuel," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a press event at the White House. "So, the reason why Cuba’s electricity grid was already in collapse — before Maduro was captured, it was already in collapse — the reason why things are as bad as they are is because they have an economic model that does not work. It’s not functional," Rubio said. CUBAN ACTIVIST TO TRUMP: ‘MAKE CUBA GREAT AGAIN’ BY ENDING COMMUNIST RULE President Donald Trump has characterized the energy crisis as severe and said he believes public unrest has strengthened U.S. infl…