Lights out in Cuba- electric grid failed. Should the US rebuild it in exchange for free elections, and disbanding their secret police and army?

Photo above - Grand Theft Auto? No . . . Cubans desperate to reach a non-communist landfall (with electricity) rely on this ingenuous approach to sea travel.

At some point Cuba is going to get new electric generators. I can’t predict if these will be wind, nuclear, or unobtainium. But someone will step in and do it. The grid failed again in Castro's paradise this week. This quaint land of pristine, immaculately maintained ’57 chevys can't even pump its own gas. Cuba might not even have any gas anyway. See link below.

Some nation is going to gift – or sell – Cuba a replacement electric grid. My prediction is that it will be the People’s Republic of China. Chairman Xi already has a program called “Belt and Road” where he makes infrastructure investments in Africa, in exchange for ownership of mines, farmland, mineral rights, timber rights, and fishing grounds. Cuba ticks at least 3 of those 5 boxes. At the end of day, China ends up installing eavesdropping stuff far more sophisticated than the hilariously inept weather balloon we shot down a few years ago. Maybe China also sets up launching pads for cruise missiles, and ICBMs. The sort of thing JFK risked starting WW3 to prevent.

What if America gave Cuba a new electric grid? In exchange for embracing democracy and human rights. Instead of signing over its farmland, minerals, and fishing rights to the people's republic of oppression and censorship, all they would have to do is disband their secret police and army, empty the prisons of political detainees, and hold free elections. If Jimmy Carter was still alive we could send him as an election monitor, but he's not. How about NATO? Just a peacekeeping force. No B21 nuclear bombers or Abrams tanks.

How much would a new electric grid for Cuba cost? In 2025, a wind farm typically costs $1 billion per gigawatt of electricity. How many gigawatts does Cuba need? Each US resident uses 28 kwh per day. Cuba certainly uses far less per person, but let’s give them a modern American style grid, okay? Cuba has 10 million people, including secret police, the military, detainees, and other citizens yearning for freedom and human rights. Those 10 million Cubanos need 300 gigawatts of electricity per day. Max up front cost of $300 billion. Maybe less. Probably far less.

We wouldn’t have to pay it all up front. Turbine builders will probably finance it, in exchange for the revenue stream of consumer payments. Anyway, this isn't all that much, in comparison to things like B21 supersonic bombers, interest on the national debt, or even the $200 million dollars a year in unemployment benefits prisoners are scamming us for. (see link below)

I never really bought into the Monroe doctrine. The theory that Latin America – especially the Caribbean – is America’s special sphere of influence. Like the eastern European puppet states that pledge allegiance to Putin. But the US could prevent a humanitarian crisis on our own doorstep. We've stepped in enough $hit recently. This is one where we could do something helpful for a change.

I'm just sayin' . . .

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Another full blackout hits Cuba as the island's energy crisis worsens