The Sugar Intervention refers to the events in Cuba from August 25, 1917 to February 15, 1922, when the United States Marine Corps was stationed on the island.
The controversy escalated into a military insurgency in the country, led by former president José Miguel Gómez and aided by Pino Guerra and Merito Acosta.
On February 12, the USS Paducah (PG-18) landed men, following a request for protection from American sugarcane plantation owners.
On April 7, 1917, Cuba declared war on Germany, and many liberals, who agreed with the move, decided to stop criticizing the government.
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.
After having familiarized himself with the situation, Morgan advised the government to dispatch the troops immediately to suppress the bandits, adding that the 1918 sugar harvest was in danger of being destroyed if the intervention was delayed.
[1] In July 1917, the Menocal government suspended constitutional guarantees, which means that anyone could be detained for an indefinite period of time.
Whereas the measure was claimed to be intended against German spies, in practice it started the company of selective pro-government terror.
[1] During the first year of arrival, the US Marines assumed responsibility for the objects of infrastructure related to sugar plantations.
In addition, they collected intelligence data, tried to obtain general information and passed it to the United States, as well as to authorities in Havana.