When has nation building ever worked for the United States or any other country?

Cuba

NO ONE HAS EVER ruled Cuba without outside support. It may be argued that the problem is that no one ever ruled the island for its own benefit. “Voluptuous Cuba,” as many have called it, was exploited for the benefit of another such as Spain, America, or the Soviet Union. Even today, Cuba limps along economically and politically with the titular support of other nations such as Venezuela and China, the former to help spread communism throughout Latin America, and the latter to exploit the island for oil. Thus, when America withdrew its support from Machado, his government quickly fell.

Seattle Newspaper, November 6, 1933

From August, 1933, to January, 1934, the island changed leadership three times. Cuba experimented with socialism, confronted a severe economic stress, and saw the meteoric rise of Sergeant Fulgencio Batista. The revolutionaries who had fought the battles of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries had prostituted their idealism by accepting American paternalism and economic colonialism. A new revolution arose led by the youth of Cuba – students, young professionals, and the lower echelons of the Cuban army.

A government formed by Dr. Carlos de Céspedes when Machado abdicated inspired the revolt led by Batista. Although Machado and his death squads were gone, public unrest continued. Roosevelt dispatched two American warships to the region as a show of strength and to have forces at the ready to protect American-owned property on the island. However, they were under strict orders to not interfere. Of course, no one on the island was certain of that. Thus, America's Ambassador was able to impose his solution to the problem. All the Cubans needed, he reasoned, was an election to dispel public unrest over their displeasure with de Céspedes' government. It appears that the only thing more unpredictable and uncertain than Cuban politics was America's unpredictable and uncertain policies towards the island.

The several warring factions in Cuba could agree on just one thing: Whoever wrested control of the island needed American recognition and support. That could be won only by satisfying Welles' criteria for good government. As they jockeyed for advantage, unrest grew among the revolutionary factions. Impatient for a solution, the Cuban military abrogated the process by acting unilaterally.