DeSantis says Florida had plan to beam internet into Cuba during 2021 protests
MIAMI, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis revealed new details about an effort he says his administration developed to beam internet service directly into Cuba during the historic 2021 anti-government protests — including a plan involving airborne technology that he says was abandoned after the company involved was warned it could lose its federal license.
DeSantis made the disclosure during remarks in Miami while discussing Florida’s new comprehensive anti-communism education standards and what he described as a missed opportunity to support Cubans challenging the communist government five years ago.
The governor said his administration explored ways Florida could restore communications after Cuban authorities restricted internet access as demonstrations spread across the island.
“As people start to protest, the regime shuts down the Internet obviously because they don’t want people to be able to communicate,” DeSantis said.
What followed, according to DeSantis, was an effort that went considerably further than previously discussed publicly.
DeSantis: Florida explored Starlink, then another solution
DeSantis said officials first considered whether Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network could provide connectivity.
But the governor said they encountered a basic technical obstacle: Starlink requires equipment on the ground to receive the satellite signal.
“The problem with Starlink is … you need to have a device on the ground,” DeSantis said.
Without receivers inside Cuba, he said, users could not simply connect their phones directly to Starlink satellites. DeSantis also accused the Biden administration of being unwilling to help deliver the necessary equipment to Cubans.
That prompted Florida officials to search for another option.
DeSantis said his administration examined what could be accomplished through the Florida Division of Emergency Management — and eventually found a company prepared to use an airborne system.
“I actually got a company that was going to send hot air Internet hot air balloons over,” DeSantis said.
According to the governor, the technology would have allowed an internet signal to reach users’ smartphones directly, potentially eliminating the need to distribute receivers throughout Cuba.
DeSantis said Florida officials calculated the cost and were prepared to move ahead.
“We kind of priced it out and, you know, we were going to do it,” DeSantis said, adding that he believed restoring communications was “the right thing to do.”
Governor says company was warned it could lose federal license
Then, according to DeSantis, the plan stopped.
The governor alleged the unnamed company was told its federal license could be jeopardized if it participated.
“We were going to do it, but the company was told that if they proceeded with it that they would lose their federal license,” DeSantis said. “And so they kind of went back and didn’t do it.”
DeSantis did not identify the company during his remarks, according to the transcript, nor did he identify the federal agency he says issued or communicated the warning.
The governor’s remarks therefore leave several significant unanswered questions, including which company had agreed to participate, what federal license was allegedly at risk and which federal agency communicated the warning.
The transcript also does not include independent documentation substantiating the governor’s account.
A look back at Cuba’s 2021 uprising
The plan DeSantis described dates to the massive demonstrations that erupted across Cuba in July 2021.
Thousands took to the streets in an extraordinary challenge to Cuba’s communist government, with protesters demanding changes amid economic hardship, shortages and anger over government restrictions.
Internet access became a critical issue as Cubans used social media and messaging platforms to share images of demonstrations and organize.
DeSantis said Thursday he believes the United States missed an opportunity to more aggressively support protesters at a pivotal moment.
“Had there been a more forceful effort to give the people some support in 2021, we could have a much different picture today,” DeSantis said.
He called it a “missed opportunity.”
“We tried to do what we could do,” the governor said. “And unfortunately, we didn’t have the help in Washington at the time under the Biden administration to get the job done.”
Revelation comes during Florida’s anti-communism education rollout
DeSantis disclosed the internet effort while in Miami discussing the first full school year under Florida’s expanded history-of-communism standards.
The governor signed Senate Bill 1264 in 2024, expanding instruction on the history and effects of communism in Florida schools.
During Thursday’s event, DeSantis said the curriculum is intended to teach students about communist governments including Cuba, the former Soviet Union and China.
The governor also tied that education directly to Florida’s Cuban exile community, arguing students should understand why people have risked their lives crossing the Florida Straits to escape Cuba.
“Why are people willing to get in a boat and go 90 miles over shark infested waters to escape communism in Cuba for a chance to be free here in the United States?” DeSantis asked. “There’s reasons for all those, but those reasons need to be presented.”
DeSantis looks toward a post-communist Cuba
The governor also offered his vision for what Cuba could become if its political system changed.
DeSantis predicted a free Cuba would experience rapid economic growth, with increased tourism, agriculture and private investment.
“If you had a free society in Cuba, the island would absolutely boom,” DeSantis said.
He described the country’s coastline, tourism potential and other resources, drawing partly from his experience serving at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
But DeSantis argued Cuba cannot realize that economic potential under its existing government.
“You can’t get there if you’re subject to the yoke of a communist dictatorship,” he said.
The governor’s newly disclosed account of the 2021 internet proposal adds another chapter to Florida’s long-running involvement in Cuba policy — while raising new questions about exactly how close the state came to launching the system and what happened in Washington that prevented it from moving forward