Musk Used State Department to Force Another Country to Get Starlink

Yahoo

15-05-2025

The U.S. State Department is interfering with foreign countries on behalf of Elon Musk's satellite internet business, according to a sweeping report published Thursday by ProPublica.
State Department officials both in Washington and in Gambia have been aggressively pushing for the West African country to approve a license for Starlink, which is owned and operated by SpaceX, of which Musk owns a $150 billion stake.
In one February meeting between Sharon Cromer, the ambassador from the United States to Gambia, and Lamin Jabbi, the Gambian minister of communications and digital economy, the American diplomat reportedly pressured the Cabinet member to approve the use of Starlink.
Hassan Jallow, Jabbi's top deputy, told ProPublica that Cromer issued a thinly veiled threat by stressing the many ways that the U.S. has been financially supporting Gambia. 'The implication was that they were connected,' Jallow told the outlet.
In mid-March, Jabbi and Jallow traveled to Washington to attend the World Bank summit, and were subjected to a meeting organized by the State Department that quickly turned contentious. The meeting was with Ben MacWilliams, a former U.S. diplomat now in charge of Starlink's expansion efforts in Africa, who accused Jabbi of kneecapping the country's development, according to Jallow and four others who attended the meeting.
When the conversation ended without Jabbi acquiescing, his following meeting with U.S. government officials at the State Department headquarters was cancelled. Starlink told Jabbi that 'there was no more need' for a meeting anymore, Jallow recounted to ProPublica.
It was then that Cromer sent an 'important request' about approving Starlink over Jabbi's head and straight to Gambian President Addama Barrow. She urged him to go around his communications minister to 'facilitate the necessary approvals for Starlink to commence operations.'
While the U.S. state officials had previously worked with Starlink during the Biden administration, efforts have only intensified since Donald Trump entered the White House, bringing Musk along with him. Starlink has fiercely sought to expand its market in Africa, already getting five new African countries to approve licenses, setting the total at 15.
Musk's apparent leverage within the Trump administration may play a hefty role in negotiations, particularly after the State Department was reportedly planning to close many of its embassies throughout the region—including the one in Gambia.
A spokesperson for the State Department released a statement responding to the report. 'Starlink is an America-made product that has been a game changer in helping remote areas around the world gain internet connectivity. Any patriotic American should want to see an American company's success on the global stage, especially over compromised Chinese competitors,' the statement said.
Musk is clearly using his proximity to the Trump administration to boost his many businesses. While attending an investors conference in Saudi Arabia with Trump Tuesday, Musk announced that the Gulf nation had also approved the use of Starlink. While chatting with the Saudi communications minister, Musk and Trump managed to plug every single one of the former's businesses.
The State Department is only the latest federal agency to potentially help Musk enrich himself. Democratic lawmakers have also accused Trump's Department of Commerce of going to great lengths to line the billionaire's pockets by, among other things, begging Americans to buy Tesla stock.