Puerto Rico and Cuba have been widely covered on the news cycle lately. While one economy is completely on the brink, the other is slowly rising. There has been plenty of news coverage of these countries varying from Puerto Rican playwright, Lin Manuel Miranda, rapping at the White House to President Obama's historic visit to Cuba.

A couple of weeks ago, I had some time to catch up with a really good friend of mine who still lives in Puerto Rico. When I asked her how things were on the island she said in a very Puerto Rican fashion, “Estamos cagao con lo de Cuba.” (Translation: “This Cuba thing has us scared as hell”). I guess the question here is, why? Puerto Ricans already have a right to fly back and forth. Hell, they even have citizenship! So why are they so scared over the progression in Cuba?

Well, it’s no secret that Puerto Rico’s economy has been on a downward spiral. In fact, it is up to $70 billion in debt and it is really tiny. I mean, just try finding it on a globe! It is literally a dot on the globe! It’s strange to think of it this way because the island has had a big impact in music, sports, Miss Universe pageants and politics and they’re also the home to big names in alcohol like Bacardi. But in reality, it is as small as the amount of Hispanics actually voting for Donald Trump. Regardless of its size, the economy is in big trouble after corrupt legislators have taken over the government, made a number of bad investments and a weird relationship with the United States.

Now, if that wasn’t already enough, Puerto Rico is looking to be in even bigger debt. The economy looks worse every single day, meaning more and more are leaving the country, there are more untreated patients as the spreading of the Zika virus grows, another drought is expected to hit the country and worst of all, tourism is declining.

Okay, so the other issues sound far more terrible than tourism, but the reason why this really is a huge issue is that Puerto Rico has recently invested a lot in tourism hoping it would boost the economy. Just last year they opened The Mall of San Juan, which cost $475 million! A mall that was created for the rich and the tourists (despite their spokesperson’s claims of it being affordable for the average Puerto Rican consumer). I mean, when you have Sarah Jessica Parker signing each of the $200+ shoes purchased at the opening, you can safely assume that it isn’t exactly aimed for the general public.

So with all of this invested in tourism, one would think that it would sky rocket at this point!

And in comes Cuba.

Last month, a historic visit to Cuba made by President Obama was spread all over the news. Many say it showed a great deal of “maturity." Well, maturity or not, it is definitely a great investment. All eyes are now on Havana as it may become new ground for American companies to invest in. This new relationship between the countries means that Cuba could very soon become a new Caribbean destination for people wanting to visit an island during spring break.

While the US citizens in Puerto Rico are becoming more and more in debt, Cuba’s economy is on the rise. Companies like Airbnb have begun to start a way to trade with the country to make it easier for many to travel and find a place to stay there. According to NBC and other news sources, companies such as AT&T and Marriott are already looking to invest in this island.

It is very important to point out that there are other advantages to this Cuba trade, such as many families being able to reunite after years of being prevented to do so. There are many Cubans that aren’t able to return to the island and a better relationship with the United States will benefit them greatly.

So knowing all of this, is it wrong for Puerto Rico to be hesitant over these sanctions being lifted or is it fair since their economy is supposed to be more of a priority for the United States government given that they are citizens?