Could Cuba Gain Statehood Before Puerto Rico?

 Could Cuba Gain Statehood 

      Before Puerto Rico?

M.A. Dworkin

     Havana, Cuba - As Cuba continues to deteriorate both economically and socially, due to the strangling effects of the U.S. oil blockade, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canal has confirmed that his government is in talks with the Trump Administration to find solutions to the two countries’ differences. 

     “Not having fuel enter the country in the past three months, there has been a gradual decline of diesel and fuel oil reserves,” Diaz-Canal said. “Given this, the country’s electrical grid has become increasingly unstable.”

     Talks between the two nations are in fact only in their initial stages. But the Cuban President revealed to the Cuban people in a national broadcast that he is leading the Cuban side of the negotiations. In the meantime, President Trump has threatened a friendly takeover and stated that Cuba is in deep trouble.

     Since returning to the White House, Trump along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio have made it very clear they desire to change Cuba’s leadership. After kidnapping and jailing Dictator Nocholas Maduro in Venezuela, Trump effectively shut off the spigot on Cuba’s regular supply of oil,  threatening tariffs on any country that provides Cuba with fuel, throwing the country into a state of near-economic chaos.

     “We are talking to Cuba, whose leaders should make a deal,” Trump remarked. “Such a deal would be very easy to make.” 

     Given the current worsening Cuban crisis, and the likelihood that the U.S. will bail them out or offer them a lifeline, the question that is burning through many political circles is how much of an olive branch is Washington willing to offer to win over the Cuban people? Is statehood in the cards? Is it possible that Cuba could gain statehood before Puerto Rico? 

     While Puerto Rico’s current status as a U.S. Territory makes it a more immediate legal candidate to become the 51st State, the fact that a vast majority of Puerto Ricans are undecided on the issue brings to the forefront the unlikely, but thoroughly achievable, scenario whereby Cuba joins the Union ahead of Puerto Rico. 

     If a post-revolutionary, post-communistic Cuban government were to seek rapid integration into the American system for   reasons which would include securing immediate economic stability and to a lesser extent for defense against foreign influence, the U.S. might prioritize its admission as a strategic necessity. It would not only benefit the U.S. in economic ways for an import market for U.S. farmers, but it would provide regional security and unencumbered maritime lanes along with stabilizing the Caribbean region and reducing the regional influence of adversaries like Russia. 

     In contrast, Puerto Rico’s path to statehood remains stalled by longstanding internal political divisions over its identity, and the complex ongoing debate in Congress regarding the economic implications of incorporating a large Spanish-speaking Territory that is already under U.S. jurisdiction. 

      Further complicating the Puerto Rico statehood question, is the recent fractioning of various movements away from the Castro-Diaz Canal regime, such as the grass-roots effort that is gaining influence inside Puerto Rico to eschew the U.S. altogether and return to the mother ship of Spain, a populist movement that offers Puerto Ricans the advantage of joining the   European Union. 

     It is certainly feasible that ultimately Cuba could leapfrog Puerto Rico into statehood particularly if the Trump Administration viewed its admission as the 51st state as a decisive foreign policy victory, whereas Puerto Rico’s admission is often viewed as little more than domestic administrative reform. 

     Amid the current diplomatic talks between the Cuban regime and the Trump Administration, Florida lawmakers recently passed a bill that contains a free trade provision with Cuba should the regime fall. The amendment states that the Governor of Florida, currently Ron DeSantis, “may temporarily suspend the provisions of any statute or rule restricting interactions with Cuba should the federal government change the diplomatic status of the Caribbean country.” The Governor is then directed to make recommendations for policy change relating to Cuba for the Legislature to consider in the following session. If DeSantis does not veto the bill, which seems unlikely, the amendment will become law on July 1, 2026. 

     Given the fact that Florida is home to over 1.5 million residents with Cuban origin, primarily centered in South Florida, such an outpouring of support on the homefront for any sort of change in the current restrictive Cuban policies is both economically and culturally favorable.

     “I think there’s finally a light at the end of a tunnel for generations of Cuban Americans that have fled the island or had family members, like myself, pass as political prisoners in Cuba,” said Cuban-American Republican Rep. Juan Carlos Porras. “The state of Florida is completely ready for that regime to fall. I’d love to see a world where Cuba could be possibly like a U.S. Territory, similar to Puerto Rico, and maybe that could open up some opportunities to work with the state as well.”

     But State Senator Ileana Garcia, a Miami Republican, does not see the process as being a slam-dunk. 

     “My expectations are seared in current U.S. law which makes it clear the U.S. cannot normalize relations with Cuba until three conditions are met: the liberation of all political prisoners; legalize freedom of expression, including the free press and political parties; and schedule multiparty elections with international supervision,” Senator Garcia stated. 

     Despite all the obstacles, one thing is for certain when it comes to what President Donald Trump wants, one way or another, he figures out a way to get it. And considering that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s parents were born in Cuba, and are considered part of the exile community due to their political stance against the communist regime, the possibility of Cuba becoming a U.S. Territory or even a State, is not that far-fetched of an idea.