In the year 2012, Puerto Rico kinda voted to be a state of the United States of America.
In the year 2017, 97% of Puerto Ricans that cast ballots voted for Puerto Rico to become a state of the United States of America.
Right after that initiative, the territory of Puerto Rico was almost wiped off the map by back to back hurricanes, Irma and Maria. You remember Donald Trump throwing paper towels to homeless island natives, don't you?
In the year 2020, Puerto Rico again voted to be a state of the United States of America. But here's the ruse, Puerto Rico can vote to become a state another hundred times, the United States Congress is the only governing body that can okay statehood.
Why doesn't Congress act? Because Puerto Rico is burdened with crippling, and almost insurmountable, debt.
But since Russia invaded Ukraine, international rules are quickly shifting and the U.S. should swiftly grant Puerto Rico their wish for statehood. Why?
Let me lay out a scenario for you: China keeps saber-rattling that they want to crack down on Taiwan militarily. Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan to support their government weeks ago and it leaked out to the American Press today that Chinese President Xi supposedly asked American President Biden not to let Pelosi visit. Joe Biden refused.
Instead of using the military as a weapon, what if China courted Puerto Rico? What if the Chairman of the National People's Congress flew to Puerto Rico and told their leadership they'd cover all their debt and rebuild their infrastructure in exchange for annexation.
Now the Governor of Puerto Rico couldn't say "okay, now we're part of China." But what he could do is endorse, then set into motion, a ballot initiative for Puerto Rican independence. Once independent, theoretically Puerto Rico could vote for anything.
There aren't a lot of small countries actively looking for bigger countries as potential suitors. In theory, an independent Puerto Rico could spurn the United States and be, using a sports term, a free agent. They're not a lock for China either, Puerto Rico could make overtures to countries like Spain or Brazil that would want to expand their presence in the Caribbean Sea.
I'm not saying that will happen, I'm saying that if we don't allow Puerto Rico to become a state, they are going to start looking to other countries to help solve their problems. Problems that aren't getting fixed.
Luma Energy and Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority have blamed aging infrastructure, lack of maintenance, bad weather, sargassum and even an iguana for the blackouts. Officials also stress they’re working with a system just now being rebuilt after Hurricane Maria razed the U.S. territory’s power grid in September 2017. - AP News
That AP story is from 2 days ago. 5 years after Maria, Puerto Rico is STILL having rolling blackouts.
Puerto Rico: A U.S. Territory in Crisis Council on Foreign Relations
What happens if Puerto Rico shifts from an American afterthought to an international political pawn?