After the raids and the bombing of Caracas, the detention of Maduro, and the growing geopolitical tension that we are living through as if these kinds of dramas ever ended well, Starlink has decided to offer free internet access in Venezuelan territory through the SpaceX satellite system. Just as the regime of Nicolás Maduro was intensifying actions against antennas and satellite equipment, Starlink will offer free internet.
The reaction has not been long in coming, both inside and outside the country. The decision has landed like a bomb, an internal joke I guess, not only because of the technology itself, but because of what having access to the internet means in the big 2026. What happens when the State can no longer flip the internet switch?
Internet and context
Everything has its reason, supposedly, and in recent weeks Venezuelan security forces had carried out raids against satellite internet users in rural areas, and places where regular internet did not reach were Starlink territory as the only alternative to know what was happening in the world. According to reports, there were interrogations and warnings for connecting outside the official internet system.
Starlink is hard to control
Basically because the Starlink system does not depend on national cables nor can it be controlled by the Venezuelan State. It works with low Earth orbit satellites and communicates directly with an antenna on the ground, which means there is no button to turn it off if the internet is used as a political tool. That is why it had become a very sensitive target.
The digital medium is a fear
Several NGOs, journalists, and many users have been reporting for some time a climate of constant surveillance by the government, and certain technologies generate fear because of the possible legal or personal consequences they may have. So Starlink has offered free access to “lower the barriers” and allow more people to connect to the internet without spending so much money.
Elon Musk, present in the middle of the empire
There has not been a big announcement from the owner of SpaceX. It seems he has gotten tired of being the media focus and is letting his friend Trump steal the show. The situation we are currently living is tense enough for anyone to want to draw attention.
So Musk has simply wanted to keep communications active when traditional networks fall or are blocked.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government keeps official silence, as if they were going to say anything, with how easy it is for the United States government to activate the U.S. Army, although in the sector it is taken for granted that controls will increase, so even more turbulent times are coming.
Does it change anything for Venezuelans?
For the moment, Venezuelans will continue to have access to the internet to inform themselves about what is happening outside, and until February 3 it will be free, according to what they say, to “support the people of Venezuela”. What is true is that right now being informed about what does or does not happen both in Venezuelan territory and abroad is the most important weapon.
A dangerous precedent
What is happening in Venezuela is not leaving anyone without an opinion, and many are trying to get their share of the situation. Big tech companies want to respond to censorship with free connectivity, but we know that nobody does things just for the love of it. Nowadays, whoever controls access to information also controls the population, is that not so?
The internet is a political act
As we said, Starlink wants to guarantee freedom of information, and this has been its first step. The next ones are still to be written.