• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
Communist Cuba Outraged As Starlink Commits Crime Of Providing Internet

Communist Cuba Outraged As Starlink Commits Crime Of Providing Internet

May 12, 2025
Jill Biden’s Former Press Secretary Says She is ‘Allergic to Transparency’

Jill Biden’s Former Press Secretary Says She is ‘Allergic to Transparency’

May 20, 2025
Comey’s ‘8647’ Post Opened Floodgates For ‘Copycat’ Threats Against Public Figures, FBI Says

Comey’s ‘8647’ Post Opened Floodgates For ‘Copycat’ Threats Against Public Figures, FBI Says

May 20, 2025
Majority Of Voters Prefer ‘Someone Else’ For New York Governor Over Kathy Hochul, Poll Shows

Majority Of Voters Prefer ‘Someone Else’ For New York Governor Over Kathy Hochul, Poll Shows

May 20, 2025
Kristi Noem Pours Cold Water On Reporting That She Backed Reality Show For Immigrants

Kristi Noem Pours Cold Water On Reporting That She Backed Reality Show For Immigrants

May 20, 2025
VANESSA BATTAGLIA: Will Navy Secretary Phelan Create A Belt-Tightening Playbook For The DOD?

VANESSA BATTAGLIA: Will Navy Secretary Phelan Create A Belt-Tightening Playbook For The DOD?

May 20, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: GOP Group Unveils Video Slamming VA Democrats For Treating Tax Cuts As Joke

EXCLUSIVE: GOP Group Unveils Video Slamming VA Democrats For Treating Tax Cuts As Joke

May 20, 2025
Retired Naval Admiral Convicted In Lucrative Bribery Scheme

Retired Naval Admiral Convicted In Lucrative Bribery Scheme

May 20, 2025
Illegal Migrants Can Now Book Their Own Deportation Flights

Illegal Migrants Can Now Book Their Own Deportation Flights

May 20, 2025
Most Voters See Economy As Strong Under Trump For The First Time In Years, Poll Says

Most Voters See Economy As Strong Under Trump For The First Time In Years, Poll Says

May 20, 2025
Dem Congresswoman Charged in ICE Facility Confrontation

Dem Congresswoman Charged in ICE Facility Confrontation

May 20, 2025
Reporter Calls Out Democrats Who Are Trying To ‘Reverse’ Their Opinion On Biden’s Decline

Reporter Calls Out Democrats Who Are Trying To ‘Reverse’ Their Opinion On Biden’s Decline

May 20, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: Massive Telecom Merger Champions Workers In A Way Biden Admin Never Could, FCC Chair Says

EXCLUSIVE: Massive Telecom Merger Champions Workers In A Way Biden Admin Never Could, FCC Chair Says

May 20, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Communist Cuba Outraged As Starlink Commits Crime Of Providing Internet

by Daily Caller News Foundation
May 12, 2025 at 7:53 pm
in News, Wire
247 5
0
Communist Cuba Outraged As Starlink Commits Crime Of Providing Internet
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Daily Caller News Foundation

Cuban authorities accused Starlink of violating four separate American laws Monday, as they complained about unauthorized internet access spreading across the island.

The regulators complained in a Facebook post that SpaceX is illegally smuggling Starlink terminals into Cuba “like a digital bandit,” allowing citizens to skirt the regime’s telecom monopoly and state censorship. They cited four American statutes — from export law to embargo enforcement — to argue that the Elon Musk-owned company is running afoul of longstanding U.S. trade restrictions.

“Starlink arrives in Cuba as a supposed ‘digital lifeline’ — but at what legal cost?” the post, translated from Spanish, asks. “While some celebrate, the U.S. looks the other way, violating its own laws. Why has SpaceX turned a blind eye? Are the rules only meant for some? Access to the internet should not be an excuse to bypass international regulations.”

Cuba’s “Technical Budgeted Unit for Radioelectric Spectrum Control” said Starlink breaks the Cuban Assets Control Regulations from 1963 by rerouting subscription payments through third-country middlemen; the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, if dishes sit on property nationalized after 1959; the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, which treats the antennas as sensitive equipment needing a U.S. export license; and International Telecommunication Union rules that require permission from the country where the service is used — approval the Cuban government says it never gave.

“In Cuba, Starlink operates like a digital bandit — no license, no approval,” the post said. “Banks get hit with million-dollar fines for transferring $50 to Cuba, yet SpaceX moves high-value equipment, and no one says a word.”

Customs officers have seized at least 20 Starlink dishes at the José Martí International Airport since April and another cache of 85 routers bound for hidden networks, according to William Pérez González, deputy chief of the General Customs of Cuba. He said that interceptions included terminals stuffed inside televisions shipped from Miami, touting the “rigorous measures” he imposed to prevent further smuggling.

Detecta la #AduanadeCuba equipos satélitales STARLINK ocultos en el interior de 3 televisores como envios por Holguín desde los EEUU. La pericia y preparación de las fuerzas aduaneras frenan la ilegalidad e intento de burlar la seguridad en frontera. Se aplicaron medidas de rigor pic.twitter.com/17nrcfbCii

— Wiliam Pérez González (@vicejefeagr) April 27, 2025

Despite those raids, Starlink kits continue to surface on the Revolico classifieds site, the Cuban equivalent of Craigslist, for as much as $2,000 — more than 100 times Cuba’s average monthly salary of $16 USD, according to CiberCuba — and the outlet reports rooftop units sprouting from Havana to Santiago. The appeal is speed and stability: Cuba’s lone provider, ETECSA, still reportedly ranks among Latin America’s slowest and most expensive network, with constant blackouts and modest 20-gigabyte data plans that can consume a week’s wages in a day, according to ETECSA’s listed prices.

“The internet is a right, sure — but laws exist for a reason,” the Cuban regulators wrote, liberally decorating the post with emojis. “Where is the limit? Breaking international order? Violating extraterritoriality? Creating dangerous precedents?”

U.S. policy is murkier than Cuba’s complaint suggests. The Treasury Department’s general licenses already permit American firms to sell “communications services” that expand internet access on the island, and the Biden administration in 2022 urged cloud and videoconferencing providers to do just that. Whether Starlink needs additional permission is an open question; neither the Treasury, which controls the Office of Foreign Assets Control, nor the State Department responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. SpaceX and the Cuban embassy in Washington likewise did not comment on Havana’s allegations, nor did they respond to the DCNF’s inquiries.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Screen Capture/CSPAN)

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Tags: DCNFtechnologyU.S. News
Share196Tweet123
Daily Caller News Foundation

Daily Caller News Foundation

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th