Why did William Howard Taft send marines to Nicaragua?

Answer 1

It was on November 18th in 1909 that the U.S. sent warships and marines to Nicaragua to press for stability in the region. This was done at the orders of President William Howard Taft after Adolfo Diaz, the President of Nicaragua, requested help. It was in the fall of that year amid rising instability that Diaz informed the U.S. that the safety of U.S. citizens and their property could not be guaranteed. The U.S. response was a call to arms. In the request for assistance, Diaz asked specifically for military help protecting Americans and their interests. In a quote from his request for that military help he asks that it (the U.S.) "extend its protection to all inhabitants of the Republic," and that invited the U.S. to occupy Nicaragua - which it did. Note that it was Theodore Roosevelt, who is arguably the President who authored the best U.S. demonstration of so-called gunboat diplomacy, who sent U.S. warships to seize ports in Nicaragua in 1907 when things began to get shakey. Links are provided below to relevant posts.