SouthernWorldwide.com – The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and the Treasury Department are reportedly investigating a network of non-profit organizations and their leaders for allegedly coordinating with Cuba to conduct an influence campaign within the United States.
This investigation comes in the wake of an announcement by U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche regarding murder charges against Cuban leader Raúl Castro for the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft. Notably, within minutes of this announcement, a swift and coordinated response network was already in motion across the U.S. to defend Castro and the Communist Party of Cuba.
At 1:54 p.m. on a Wednesday, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a Marxist political organization actively involved in a “Hands Off Cuba” campaign, published six pre-prepared graphics. These graphics vehemently denounced the indictment of Raúl Castro as “BASELESS” and a “PRETEXT FOR ANOTHER WAR.”
Several hours later, early Thursday morning, Vijay Prashad, executive director of Tricontinental, a Marxist think tank, posted on X. He asserted that “Cuba is not a menace to the world. The United States is a menace to the world. The world stands with Raúl Castro, hero of the Cuban Revolution. The world turns its back on Donald Trump, clown of human destruction.” Manolo De Los Santos, executive director of The People’s Forum, a New York-based non-profit, shared this message without comment. Leaders from CodePink, another progressive organization, also amplified the message.
Then, exactly 24 hours after the Attorney General’s announcement, at 1:46 p.m. on Thursday, BreakThrough News, a media platform associated with the same activist network, released a video. The video featured defiant Cubans, with one individual declaring, “We won’t hand over Raúl.”
This rapid-response messaging campaign has raised significant concerns among U.S. national security officials who are examining the influence of foreign governments within the United States. The speed and synchronization of political messaging across various non-profits, media platforms, labor organizations, and activist coalitions following significant geopolitical developments involving the Cuban regime are considered a striking example of a coordinated influence operation.
Adding a layer of complexity to the alleged influence campaign is the fact that several organizations, including the ANSWER Coalition, Party for Socialism and Liberation, BreakThrough News, CodePink, The People’s Forum, and Tricontinental, are reportedly part of a network funded by Neville Roy Singham. Singham, an American expatriate tech tycoon living in Shanghai, is known for supporting the Chinese Communist Party and its global agenda, which includes defending the communist regime in Cuba.
In response to inquiries, an embassy spokeswoman stated that “Cuban diplomats strictly comply with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.” She further noted that a part of diplomatic work involves “promoting friendly relations” and “interacting with organizations and institutions of civil society in the State to which one is accredited.”
The embassy also clarified that it is “neither extraordinary, nor a violation of any international or U.S. law, for Cuban diplomats to engage with civil society.” They added that they do not encourage Americans “to overthrow or act against the constitutional order of the United States.”
Sources close to the investigation indicated that investigators are also looking into the activities of several prominent activists and organizers associated with the Cuba solidarity movement. This group reportedly includes Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin, and CodePink D.C. coordinator Olivia DiNucci.
The organizations currently under scrutiny encompass a broad spectrum, including labor unions, activist non-profits, solidarity campaigns, travel networks, socialist political groups, and media operations.
The pro-communist Cuba ecosystem is understood to comprise seven distinct communities.
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Investigators are also examining the travel and delegation infrastructure linked to this network. This includes organizations that coordinate labor trips, educational exchanges, people-to-people tours, activist brigades, and humanitarian convoys to Cuba.
Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Americans engaging in political activities in the U.S. at the direction or control of a foreign government are required to register with the Justice Department. Advocacy itself is protected under the First Amendment, and FARA registration does not prohibit political activity. Investigators are focused on determining whether any organizations have crossed the line from independent activism into coordinated activity directed by Cuban government officials.
Sources familiar with the inquiry stated that investigators are probing whether certain organizations and activists are coordinating lobbying, messaging, delegation arrangements, fundraising, and political organizing efforts with Cuban government officials without registering under FARA.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is responsible for enforcing the long-standing U.S. sanctions regime against Cuba. This regime includes restrictions on financial transactions, material support, shipping, and the transfer of goods and services to the island.
While humanitarian exemptions and licensed travel categories are in place, investigators are examining whether some activists and non-profit groups have coordinated shipments, fundraising, “convoys,” flotillas, and aid campaigns in ways that may have violated sanctions regulations or circumvented reporting requirements.
Investigators are also scrutinizing the use of intermediary non-profits, fiscally sponsored projects, or generic donation language by organizations. This practice is being examined for its potential role in obscuring Cuba-related transactions that might otherwise have attracted increased compliance scrutiny under OFAC regulations.
In one instance, a fundraising page soliciting donations for solar panels for Cuba provided donors with specific instructions: “Please do not write ‘Cuba’ in donation comments or on the memo line of checks. Simply write ‘Urgent Aid.’”
Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a Cuban-born author specializing in communist influence operations in Latin America, asserted that “Cuba is 100% operating a foreign influence operation in the U.S.”
He characterized Cuba as “ground zero for anti-American revolutionary organizing in the Western Hemisphere.”
Gonzalez further stated, “The Cuban regime has spent decades building influence networks inside universities, labor groups, activist nonprofits, churches and solidarity organizations in the U.S.” He concluded that “The key question for investigators is whether these organizations crossed the line from protected activism into coordinated political activity directed by a foreign government.”
