Suppose that Santo Domingo was successfully bought by the USA in 1870. In the 20th century, it was still a territory and then an American state. In addition, imagine that the USA has a little more in the Caribbean: the islands of Providence and San Andrés, the islet of Aves, in addition to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. What would happen to Cuba? Will it still be a communist state? Will Che Gevara always try his Cuban foray with Fidel Castro, or will he try to go elsewhere in Latin America, since Cuba will be surrounded by American territories? And if Cuba were still communist, will it still continue to ally itself with the USSR, or even to host Soviet missiles, causing the same crisis as OTL, despite a greater US presence in the Caribbean with Santo Domingo more?
Here's a map of the Caribbean sea in this TL:
Here's a map of the Caribbean sea in this TL: