US victories in the Spanish-American War (1898) netted America several colonies from Spain: Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. It also put the US on the map as a global military power. Fast forward 120 years later and, voila, the US still owns Puerto Rico in a never-ending stalemate over which would be a better path forward – independence or statehood. The compromise, a commonwealth or territory, has always been the worst of both worlds and Puerto Rico has suffered for it.