Following reports of Spain abusing and killing Cubans, the US sent warships to Cuba. Spain was losing control of Cuba and had been putting Cubans into concentration camps. The US sent ships to Cuba to try to force Spain to give up Cuba. The USS "Maine" (ACR-1) exploded in Havana harbor, killing about 260 people on board. "Remember the Maine" became a common wartime saying. US newspapers blamed Spain for the explosion. Spain tried to avoid going to war, but pressure from US newspapers, called "yellow journalism," and ordinary people, persuaded the US government to go to war. Some of them wanted Cuba to become independent, but others hoped that the US could build a colonial empire overseas, as many European countries had already done so.