June 22, 1898: Open Wounds in the Neocolony

On June 22, 1898, U.S. forces landed at Daiquirí on the coast of Santiago de Cuba. Historian Eduardo Torres Cuevas describes this moment as one that "clouded the dreams" of Cuban independence. The arrival of over 6,000 U.S. soldiers was ostensibly to support the mambises, the Cuban fighters battling the Spanish metropolis, and to hasten Spain's defeat. However, this intervention ultimately shifted Cuba's status from a Spanish colony to a U.S. neocolony.

The subsequent Treaty of Paris, signed on December 10, 1899, formally ended the Spanish-American War. Notably, the government of the Republic of Cuba in Arms was not invited to participate in these peace negotiations. Máximo Gómez, a key figure in the Cuban independence movement, recorded his disillusionment in his diary, lamenting that while peace was signed, the "men from the North" "contemplated the murder of a people, noble, heroic and rich." He characterized the U.S. government's actions as driven by "a great business."

One of the enduring legacies of this intervention is the Platt Amendment, which became an appendix to the Cuban Constitution. This amendment has allowed for the continued U.S. military occupation of Guantánamo Bay. The base has historically been a source of provocation against Cuba, with documented instances of U.S. soldiers fatally shooting Cuban border guards. Furthermore, the base has been repurposed as a detention center, notably holding individuals apprehended globally after the September 2001 terrorist attacks, regardless of their alleged involvement.

The article also touches upon the controversial sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor. While the U.S. initially blamed Spanish forces, later U.S. sources suggested internal causes, hinting at a potential self-inflicted event to justify further intervention and occupation of the island.