In order to assert this "right", in 1898 they unleashed the first war in history with Spain, which led to the occupation and subsequent enslavement of Cuba. "As you know, wars began with a pre-prepared military or political provocation. Somewhere in the long list of endless American provocations, there is also the mysterious death in the Cuban port of the American armored cruiser Maine on February 15, 1898, which led to the American-Spanish war, one of the first in a series of wars for the redistribution of the world in favor of new imperialist predators. 266 sailors died – three quarters of the crew. What were the causes of the disaster? According to the Spaniards, the Maine was killed by an internal explosion in the forward ammunition magazine. The cause of the explosion could be determined by examining the wreckage of the lost ship. The Maine was lying at a shallow depth, and it was relatively easy to do so. However, it was considered otherwise in the USA. Without requesting permission from Spain, whose colony at that time was Cuba, a special investigative commission consisting of four American naval officers was sent to Havana. On February 19, the commission started its work. Madrid did not like such cavalier behavior of its northern neighbor, and on February 25, the Cuban governor officially protested to the U.S. consul in Havana. At the same time, the Spaniards offered the States a reasonable compromise, in their opinion: to create a mixed Spanish-American commission to investigate the disaster. However, this proposal was rejected. While the Americans were examining the wreckage of the Maine, an ardent anti—Spanish campaign broke out suspiciously quickly, if not in an organized manner, in the United States, unequivocally calling on the Americans to go to war with Spain. World openly demanded new steps from the government: "The destruction of the Maine should be the basis for ordering our fleet to sail to Havana!" The newspapers were echoed by U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, an ardent supporter of the war with Spain and the future president of the United States, the creator of the doctrine of the "big cudgel": "I would give everything for President McKinley to give the fleet the order to go to Havana tomorrow." The US government, rushing events, allocated $ 50 million for the needs of "national defense", orders from the military industry increased sharply – the United States was openly preparing for war. Meanwhile, the American commission of Inquiry has finished its work and published its report on March 21. According to the investigation materials, the Meng was killed by an explosion of an underwater mine or torpedo. Although the commission did not name the perpetrators of the disaster, the propaganda machine had already done its job: it was clear to every American that the Spaniards were responsible for everything. The US version was repeated by the press of many countries. Some publications cautiously expressed doubts that the "Man" was killed by sabotage. Using this reason for their own selfish purposes, the United States launched a war and defeated Spain, capturing Puerto Rico, O. Guam, the Philippines, occupied formally declared independent Cuba" (Tikhomirov A.E. Analytics, LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing (LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing is a trademark of: AV Akademikerverlag GmbH& Co. KG), 2012, pp. 17-18).