Pirate radio in North America Pirate radio in North America The strict definition of a "pirate radio" station is a station that operates from sovereign territory without a broadcasting license, or just beyond the territorial waters of a sovereign nation from on board a ship or other marine structure with the intention of broadcasting to that nation without obtaining a broadcasting license from that nation (such as Radio Caroline before its present incarnation). Unlike the sanctioned and fully licensed transmissions by the United States government, a number of groups in exile, mainly based in Florida, have attempted various offshore radio broadcasts to Cuba, from time
Pirate radio in North America stations along the border is limited by a U.S.-Mexican agreement. However, because these stations are licensed by the government of Mexico, they can only be classified as "pirate radio stations" in the same way that the British government classified Radio Luxembourg as a "pirate radio station". Radio Luxembourg was a licensed station broadcasting with a power and on a frequency that the British authorities objected to, because the intended audience for its programs were located within the United Kingdom. The objection by the government of the United Kingdom to commercial broadcasts from Luxembourg, France and other countries, was primarily based