United States Occupation of Veracruz - Background

Background

See also: Ypiranga incident

After the Tampico Affair, where nine American sailors were arrested by the Mexican government for entering off-limit areas in Tampico, Tamaulipas, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the United States Navy to prepare for the occupation of the port of Veracruz. While waiting for authorization of Congress to carry out such action, Wilson was alerted of a delivery of weapons for Victoriano Huerta due to arrive to the port on April 21 on 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. Huerta had taken power with the assistance of the American ambassador Henry Lane Wilson during a coup d'état in early 1913 known as La decena trágica. The Wilson administration's answer to this was to declare Huerta a usurper of the legitimate government, embargo arms shipments to Huerta, and support the Constitutional Army of Venustiano Carranza.

The arms shipment to Mexico, in fact, originated from the Remington Arms company in the U.S. The arms and ammunition were to be shipped via Hamburg, Germany, to Mexico allowing Remington Arms a means of skirting the American arms embargo.

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