Sorry for nitpicking, but while the general gist is right, there are a lot of inexact details.
Komarov is not an expy for Putin, he is an expy of Hitler (at one point Komarov even goes into a Hitler rant, in case earlier clues are too subtle for the reader). The novel was published in 1996...
Regarding the Samuel B. Roberts:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Samuel_B._Roberts_(DD-823)
While in OTL she was in the Atlantic at this time, not being reasigned to operations in that area until 1965-66, IIRC, it has been many months since the POD.
Actually, that's not quite true. It was in the late '30s when the general opinion started to swing from integration to independence, so if measures are taken is still possible to stop that swing.
What are you going with? A way worse Spanish-American War, that produces a revanchist Spain? If that's the intent, my suggestion would be to read an in depth history of spain, because there are several errors in the text that show a deep ignorance of the spanish situation and political structure...