United States occupation of Veracruz

United States occupation of Veracruz
Part of the Banana Wars, Mexican Revolution, and the Border War
Sergeant Major John H. Quick of the U.S. Marines raises the American flag over Veracruz.
Date April–November 1914 Location Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Mexico
Commanders and leaders
Frank F. Fletcher	Gustavo Maass Manuel Azueta
Strength
2,300	≈500 regular military personnel, unknown number of militiamen
Casualties and losses
22 killed 70 wounded	152–172 soldiers killed 195–250 wounded 150+ militia killed Unknown number of civilians killed

The United States occupation of Veracruz began with the Battle of Veracruz and lasted for seven months, as a response to the Tampico Affair of April 9, 1914. The incident came in the midst of poor diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States, and was related to the ongoing Mexican Revolution.

The Tampico Affair was set off when nine American sailors were arrested by the Mexican government for entering off-limit areas in Tampico, Tamaulipas. The unarmed sailors were arrested when they entered a fuel loading station. The sailors were released, but the U.S. naval commander demanded an apology and a twenty-one gun salute. The apology was provided but not the salute. In the end, the response from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson ordered the U.S. Navy to prepare for the occupation of the port of Veracruz. While awaiting authorization from the U.S. Congress to carry out such action, Wilson was alerted to a delivery of weapons for Victoriano Huerta, who had taken control of Mexico the previous year after a bloody coup d'état (and would eventually be deposed on July 15, 1914), due to arrive in the port on April 21 aboard the German-registered cargo-steamer SS Ypiranga. As a result, Wilson issued an immediate order to seize the port's customs office and confiscate the weaponry. The weapons had actually been sourced by John Wesley De Kay, an American financier and businessman with large investments in Mexico, and a Russian arms dealer from Puebla, Leon Rasst, not the German government as newspapers reported at the time. Huerta had usurped the presidency of Mexico with the assistance of the American ambassador Henry Lane Wilson during a coup d'état in February 1913 known as La decena trágica. The Wilson administration's answer to this was to declare Huerta a usurper of the legitimate government, to embargo arms shipments to Huerta, and to support the Constitutional Army of Venustiano Carranza.

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