According to the Washington Post. less than a fortnight after Trump slapped Lesotho with tariffs, the country magically greenlit Starlink’s first-ever satellite internet licence, good for a decade. According to an internal State Department cable seen by The Post, Lesotho's decision was about more than broadband—it was a play to “demonstrate goodwill and intent to welcome US businesses” during tense trade talks.
Starlink, which is part of SpaceX and run by billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk, has been making similar inroads elsewhere. Since March, it has secured local partnerships or partial market entry in India, Somalia, DRC, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam, among others.
Internal cables show US embassies and State Department officials were "actively encouraging" governments to roll out the red carpet for Starlink, especially where tariff negotiations were brewing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio even fired off at least two memos asking diplomats to press for Starlink approvals to counter “Russian space incumbents” and China’s satellite players.
One 28 March cable went as far as calling US government advocacy “essential” for Starlink to keep its global lead. Another cable had US diplomats in Turkey pitching the service to the country’s top space regulator, with Amazon’s Project Kuiper also tossed into the mix for good measure.
Rubio’s people are pushing Starlink hard, but they’re not claiming quid pro quo—at least not on paper. The administration insists there are no formal demands, however it does seem odd that Musk donated $277 million to Trump and Republican coffers last year and currently oversees the US DOGE Service.
In Cambodia, after the US fired up import duties on 2 April, the local AmCham urged the government to calm things by offering duty-free access for US imports, especially Ford cars, and fast-tracking Starlink’s entry. State Department cables showed officials had been mulling that strategy as early as March.
Starlink has made moves into Mali and Djibouti, with embassies offering to connect the dots and tee up meetings with local regulators.
W. Gyude Moore at the Center for Global Development said it’s tricky for African governments to tell where the White House ends and Musk begins.
Moore said: “It might be that there’s nothing formal but people can conclude for themselves that Musk is close to Trump. They can see their life might be a lot easier if seen or perceived as getting along with Elon Musk.”
The cables suggest that Starlink’s global growth is being sweetened with political muscle, even if it’s all very deniable.
