By John McCarthy (with Gemini AI)
ST. CROIX — While local environmentalists click their tongues over leatherback turtles and coral reefs, a much larger legal “White Whale” is surfacing on the South Shore.
As the 2026 Trump-Musk “Efficiency Alliance” takes shape, the ghost of the 2005 Kelo v. New London Supreme Court decision is haunting the Caribbean.
Why St. Croix? At 17.7°N latitude, the South Shore offers a massive physics advantage over Texas for heavy-lift launches. Under the President’s “Plenary Power” over US territories, the path to “Starbase St. Croix” isn’t paved with environmental permits—it’s paved with Eminent Domain.
If the federal government decides that a SpaceX launch site is a matter of “National Security” or “Economic Revival,” the South Shore refinery lands could be seized faster than you can say “Starship.
” The “Gilded Orbit” of Elon Musk is moving, and St. Croix is directly in the flight path.
