It did at one time.
1898: US President McKinley offers to buy Cuba for $300 million just before the US invaded.
The US sends the battleship USS Maine to Havana during the Second War of Independence on a “friendly visit†and to protect American citizens - and its corporate interests - in Cuba. The captain and most of the officers conveniently left the ship once anchored, and the Maine subsequently exploded, killing 266 American sailors. It was the excuse President McKinley needed for intervention, later known as the Spanish-American War.
Spain conceded to every US demand except Cuban independence to avoid war, but McKinley wants to fight. Although Spain declared a ceasefire in Cuba in late February, McKinley ordered US ships to blockade the islands’ ports in violation of international law.
In April, the US Congress declared Cuba has the “right to be free and independent,†and authorized the President to use military force to oust Spain from the island. The Teller Amendment declared the USA had no “intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said Island except for the pacification thereof.†US President McKinley signed the declaration and sent it to Spain.
Shortly after, President McKinley declared a blockade of the northern coast of Cuba and the port of Santiago. Spain said this was an act of war according to international law and declared war on the USA. In response, Congress formally declared war – known in the USA as the “Spanish-American War.†Cubans call it the American intervention in Cuba’s War of Independence.
Assistant Secretary of State Theodore Roosevelt, a neophyte in military matters, urged US intervention. He personally led 6,000 “Rough Riders†into attack at Santiago de Cuba where he took a full day to overcome 700 Spanish defenders. In June, a battalion of US Marines camps in Guantánamo Bay. That month an editorial in the Chicago Tribune writes about Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines as future American colonies: "All of these islands will belong to us by sovereign right of honorable conquest. They will be American soil from the moment the Stars and Stripes float over them. Annexation of all three is the natural outcome" The US attacks and sinks several Spanish ships attempting to break the blockade, and captures 1,670 soldiers. Spain admits defeat.
In July, an editorial in the Cleveland Leader favours annexing Cuba: "While our government disavowed a purpose of conquest, it may be absolutely necessary for us to keep Cuba and make it a part of the United States." In mid-August, Spain and the USA signed a bilateral armistice to end the war. Cuba was not represented at the negotiations.
Immediately after Spain surrendered, the US-owned "Island of Cuba Real Estate Company" opened for business to sell Cuban land to Americans. In December, the US-administered Cuban Educational Association declares that only certain Cubans are considered fit to be "Americanized," and that darker skinned Cubans "could not gain admission" to many American universities and colleges.
At the Treaty of Paris, in December, the US is granted control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam. Although the treaty officially grants Cuba independence, the US flag, not the Cuban flag, is raised over Havana. Americans would not allow it to be flown over Cuba until 1902. Cuban representatives are not allowed at the signing. Cuban dreams of independence are frustrated by American control.
In 1898, the US stake in Cuba was about $50 million. By 1906, it would top $200 million.
