DOJ, Treasury Probe 145 Groups and 40 Americans Over Alleged Cuba Influence Campaign
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 23
DOJ, Treasury Probe 145 Groups and 40 Americans Over Alleged Cuba Influence Campaign
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 23
Federal investigators are examining 145 U.S. nonprofits, labor and activist groups, plus about 40 Americans, over suspected coordination with Cuban officials on lobbying, messaging, fundraising, delegations and aid shipments.
The scrutiny intensified after Raúl Castro’s indictment, when a pro-Cuba network pushed coordinated responses within minutes and hours, including posts, graphics and video defending Castro and denouncing the U.S. case.
Justice is weighing possible Foreign Agents Registration Act issues, while Treasury’s OFAC is reviewing whether convoys, flotillas, fundraising and goods transfers to Cuba violated sanctions or reporting rules.
The groups identified span organizations such as CodePink, the People’s Forum and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, within an ecosystem Fox said totals about $1 billion in annual revenue.
Cuba’s embassy denied wrongdoing and said its diplomats comply with the Vienna Convention, while investigators focus on whether protected advocacy crossed into activity directed by a foreign government.
Is a billion-dollar activist network a grassroots movement or a sophisticated foreign influence operation?
When does humanitarian aid to Cuba cross the legal line into acting as a foreign agent?