Monument to the Victims of the USS Maine
The Monument to the Victims of the USS Maine (Spanish: Monumento a las víctimas del Maine) was built in 1926on the Malecón.
It was built in honor of the American sailors that died in the explosion of the USS Maine in 1898, which served as the pretext for the United States to declare war on Spain thus starting the Spanish-American War. The ship had anchored at Havana three weeks prior at the request of American consul Fitzhugh Lee.
Built in 1926 the monument was crowned with an American eagle which had its wings extended vertically, which allowed a cyclone to damage the monument. There were originally three busts of Americans: President William McKinley, who declared war on Spain; Leonard Wood, first military governor in Cuba, and President Theodore Roosevelt.
On 18 January 1961, after the Cuban revolution, the eagle and busts of the Americans were removed. The following inscription was added:
To the victims of the Maine who were sacrificed by the imperialist voracity and their desire to gain control of the island of Cuba
February 1898-February 1961
