Discussion on Cuba’s Threat to U.S. Security Interrupted by Protest
Last Tuesday, at the intersection of Church Street and 16th Street NW—just a few blocks from the White House—Christine Balling, who previously advised U.S. Special Operations Command South, moderated a panel discussing the national security risks posed by communist-governed Cuba.
Amidst the proceedings, Olivia DiNucci, a youthful former college basketball player, suddenly took the floor at the Institute of World Politics, holding a hand-painted banner proclaiming: “SANCTIONS KILL IN CUBA.”
“There is global solidarity with Gaza and Cuba and ICE here!” DiNucci shouted, her voice urgent as security personnel quickly took her banner and ushered her out, while she continued to assert, “because the liberation of our people is rooted in our neighbors!”
Smaller text on her banner identified her association with “CODEPINK.”
DiNucci is a political organizer based in Washington D.C. with CodePink, a leftist activist group. She spends her time protesting and often accompanies CodePink co-founder Susan Medea Benjamin at various events. The group has previously organized trips to Cuba, while U.S. Treasury officials investigate their activities in relation to trade restrictions with the communist nation.
For Balling and her co-panelist, Michael Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a Cuban American who opposes Cuba’s communist regime, DiNucci’s actions weren’t merely harmless theatrics. They viewed CodePink’s demonstration as a more serious disruption.
“CodePink and similar organizations act as Trojan horses. They enter spaces to bring chaos and are intended to undermine from within,” Balling shared with Fox News Digital.
“Their real intention is to sow division within America, to weaken it, and to create friction among Americans by persuading some that the American ideals and freedoms we hold dear are falsehoods, not worth defending,” she elaborated.
The event occurred as House lawmakers held a hearing titled “Trojan Horses: Covert Foreign Malign Influence Operations in America,” which aimed to explore how various domestic actors, including activists and influencers like Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, might promote the agendas of adversarial nations, including China, Iran, and Cuba.
Piker had previously joined CodePink’s delegation to Cuba and was photographed in Havana with co-founder Jodie Evans, both facing scrutiny from the Treasury Department.
“Countries like China, Russia, and Cuba carry out influence operations in the U.S. by using social media influencers like Hasan Piker as intermediaries to advance communism and disseminate misinformation,” remarked Rep. Bill Huizenga, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia.
“My aim is to unveil these operations and prevent them from compromising our national security, capitalism, and the American Dream,” Huizenga added.
The hearing seeks to bring together various allegations of foreign influence, exploring constructed ties between American activists and foreign interests that were chronicled by Fox News Digital in previous investigations focused on financing, political organization, overseas journeys, and media connections. Many of these groups are part of a “red-green alliance” linking socialist and communist factions with Islamist organizations.
One focal point of inquiry involves Neville Roy Singham, an American-born tech tycoon residing in Shanghai, who was seen at a recent conference endorsing the Chinese Communist Party and its leadership.
A comprehensive investigation by Fox News Digital identified substantial financial transactions linked to Singham, revealing $591 million exchanged among 223 transactions between 2017 and 2025, all tied to a network of approximately 2,000 organizations.
Singham’s marriage to Evans in 2017 pushed additional scrutiny towards their financial activities. The investigation uncovered connections of donations from Singham amounting to $278 million into core nonprofits promoting anti-American and pro-China viewpoints, starting in 2017 with multiple organizations advocating those agendas.
These groups have consistently denied any illegal actions, claiming they are victims of anti-communist “witch hunts.” Singham has remained silent regarding requests for comments.
The hearing intends to analyze whether foreign governments influence U.S. political discourse through domestic advocates, while maintaining their distance from the foreign entities themselves.
Fox News Digital followed the financial trails into various nonprofits, with significant sums earmarked for numerous pro-communist and far-left causes, indicating a structured effort beyond mere activism.
As the panel discussion wrapped up, Balling seized on the opportunity, stating how DiNucci’s display effectively illustrated her and Gonzalez’s claims about CodePink’s methods and objectives.
“They thrive on disruption for social media soundbites without any interest in genuine dialogue,” Balling asserted, summarizing her observations from the event.
In summary, the interruption set a stage full of implications, highlighting deeper concerns about how organized efforts might challenge traditional narratives about American values, through both protests and underlying financial networks.
