Illustration: MONK (Periodismo de Barrio). Used with permission. The inaugural meeting of the Cuba Internet Task Force (CITF) was held on February 7, 2018 and led by the State Department’s Assistant Deputy Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, John Creamer. What was said is already well-known: Low internet access in Cuba is mainly the result of a political decision by the government. The hourly cost is prohibitively expensive. Access to the internet is vital for the development of civil society, independent journalism, and the protection of human rights. Increasing access to the internet could contribute to improvements in health, agriculture, tourism, and provide new opportunities for business. No direct fiber optic cable connection exists between Cuba and the United States, a piece of infrastructure that would allow the country to quickly restore connectivity if it were lost after a hurricane. To understand why this was under discussion, we must go back to the beginnings of the CITF. On January 23, 2018, the State Department announced the official creation of CITF in accordance with the Presidential National Security Memorandum, as a further step of intentionally strengthening United States policy toward Cuba since June 2017. The stated objective was to “examine the technological challenges and opportunities for expanding internet access and freedom of expression in Cuba.” That paragraph hit mainstream national news the next day and spread like wildfire across international media, blogs and social media. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) delivered a note to the US chargé d'affaires in Havana eight days later, saying that the actions described in the paragraph were an attempt “to flagrantly violate Cuban sovereignty.” All funding needed for the organization and operation of CITF would be provided by the Western Hemisphere Affairs Office and participating agencies. CITF was to be composed of departmental and agency representatives from the United States government and by non-governmental organizations or private entities related to the Internet. Two subcommittees were created after the first meeting: “one to analyze the role of media and the flow of free and unregulated information in Cuba and another to explore access to the Internet within the country.” So it is likely that the Cuban reader of this article is being accompanied by a member of the subcommittee dedicated to the role of independent media from his office. In summary, what CITF must deliver to the Secretary of State and the White House when its work is completed in 2019 is a report with recommendations. Requesting recommendation reports to increase Internet access in Cuba is not just another one of Donald Trump’s quirks. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have done so before him. Before Bill Clinton, the Internet did not exist in Cuba (recall that it was during his administration the island's first Internet connection was finally authorized in 1996). It was during his administration the island's first Internet connection was established in 1996, in relative sync with other countries in Latin America. Illustration: MONK (Periodismo de Barrio) Ask Alan Gross. For those unfamiliar with him, he is a US citizen who traveled to Cuba and passed through customs five times with portable satellite communication equipment intended to provide Internet access to several Jewish communities in the country (at least in principle). Gross was not a philanthropist, but a contractor of the private company Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI). In 2008, DAI was subcontracted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with the aim of increasing Internet access in Cuba. Gross was sentenced to prison in Cuba for 15 years in 2011 and released after five, as part of negotiations by the administration of Barack Obama, when the two countries re-established diplomatic relations. The series of unfortunate events that led Gross to imprisonment began with the administration of Bill Clinton and the signing of the Helms-Burton Act in 1996. This federal law was created and passed in order to strengthen the embargo against Cuba, seek sanctions against Castro's government and support government change. Interventions like the one that landed Gross in prison years later were fostered by the Helms-Burton Act. Working under the fiscal agency of his small company, JBDC LLC, Gross signed a subcontract in February 2009 with DAI for a payment of $258,274.00. This included the purchase of the technology needed to establish Internet access networks via satellite in Cuba.