Starlink offers free internet in Venezuela as regime stays put

Starlink will provide free internet access across Venezuela until February 3, the company said in a statement on its website. The move follows the U.S. military’s capture and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, after which former vice president Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president. While President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in charge of Venezuela, Maduro’s regime remains entrenched in Caracas, and international leaders have broadly condemned the U.S. action, which reports say caused significant Cuban and Venezuelan casualties. Maduro has since been arraigned in U.S. federal court and pleaded not guilty.

Starlink, owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, said its focus is on keeping people in Venezuela connected by issuing free service credits. Both inactive and active Starlink customers in the country will receive credits, and anyone with a Starlink kit can choose a Roam plan to get online from Venezuela. The offer comes shortly after Trump and Musk were photographed dining together at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, the latest turn in a relationship that has swung from public support to open feuds and partial retractions over the past year.