Elon Musk’s Starlink Switches On Free Internet In Venezuela As LatAm Nation Spirals After Maduro Arrest

• Starlink said that free service credits are being proactively applied to the accounts of active customers.
• On the Starlink website, the waitlist shows Starlink availability in Venezuela, even as the company announced plans to provide broadband service on Sunday.
• On Saturday, the U.S. conducted a military operation in Venezuela, which resulted in the arrest of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

As Venezuela reels from the arrest of its president, Nicolas Maduro, and a U.S. airstrike on the South American country, Elon Musk’s Starlink said on Sunday that it was providing free broadband service to the region through Feb. 3 to ensure continued connectivity.

Starlink said that for active customers, free service credits are being proactively applied to their accounts, while for inactive customers who have paused service or become inactive due to payment status, free service credits are being used, allowing them to reactivate service during this period.

What Is Happening In Venezuela?

On Saturday, the U.S. conducted a military operation in Venezuela, which resulted in the arrest of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. According to U.S. officials, Maduro is now at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and is charged with drug and weapon offences.

According to media reports, in the early hours of Saturday, more than 150 aircraft were used to get the extraction team into Caracas, and following the arrest, Maduro and his wife were taken to New York.

Starlink In Venezuela

Starlink said in a post that at this time, its focus is on enabling connectivity for new and existing customers to “support the people of Venezuela with free service credits.”

“We are actively monitoring evolving conditions and regulatory requirements. While we do not have yet have a timeline for local purchase availability, if and when there are updates they will be communicated directly through official Starlink channels,” the company said.

SpaceX-owned Starlink is an advanced satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more.

However, on its official website, Starlink still shows as “coming soon” to Venezuela despite the latest statements issued amid the political turmoil.

What Is Retail Thinking?

The retail sentiment on SpaceX was in the ‘bullish’ territory late Sunday, with message volumes at ‘low’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.

The watchers on SpaceX has more than doubled in the last year on Stocktwits amid reports of plans to go public at a valuation of around $1.5 trillion, which would make it the biggest IPO in history.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Also See: Nike Gets A Surprise Lift As Viral Images Of Captured Maduro In Tech Fleece Drive Unlikely Sales Pop

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