Sugar Intervention

The Sugar Intervention refers to the events in Cuba between 1917 and 1922, when the United States Marine Corps were stationed on the island.

When conservative Cuban president Mario García Menocal was re-elected in November 1916, liberals began to question the circumstances behind his re-election. The controversy escalated into a military insurgency in the country, led by Jose Miguel Gomez and aided by Pino Guerra and Merito Acosta. The left-wing forces were mostly acting in Eastern Cuba, however, and were insufficient to overthrow the government. On February 12, the USS Paducah (PG-18) landed men, following a request for protection from American sugarcane plantation owners.

By March 1917, the liberal forces in Western Cuba were mostly dispersed, and in the east, they lost in the battle of Caicaje, after which many leaders of the liberal movement were captured, including Gomez and his command. The liberals also failed to gain support of the United States. Therefore, the liberals tried to abandon their cause and to conclude peace agreements with the conservatives at the local level. Menocal offered amnesty to all rebels. Many liberal leaders had to emigrate.

In April 1917, Cuba declared war to Germany, and many liberals, who agreed with the move, decided to stop criticizing the government. However, this crisis in the Liberal party resulted in the dramatic increase in banditry and local insurgency, since the low-level military commanders were not in a position to negotiate with the government and had to remain in the field without any central command. Small units which counted twenty to thirty men each were particularly active in the eastern provinces, and the government had no capability to deal with them. At the same time, the social base of the insurgents broadened, due to the concentration of agriculture in big latifundias specializing on sugar. The peasants were basically becoming bankrupt.

In this situation, the US government decided that the insurgency represents a direct threat to the American property in the country. In addition, the general mood of the insurgents was anti-American. Indeed, attacks on American property occurred. The USA were also afraid that Germany could support the insurgents. Though the Cuban government issued multiple statements that it is capable of taking the situation under control, nothing happened. On May 14 the US State Department proposed that the troops should be transferred to Cuba. This caused strong opposition from the Cuban government. Because of this, the US Government reconsidered and delayed the intervention. In mid-May, Henry Morgan was sent as a special envoy to Cuba to study the situation. After having familiarized with the situation, Morgan advised to dispatch the troops immediately to suppress the bandits, adding that the 1918 sugar harvest could have been destroyed if the intervention is delayed.

...
Wikipedia