U.S. Ambassador Sumner Welles. A group of Machado’s former army officers, wary of reprisals, holed up in the hotel for weeks. The new army besieged them, cutting off their water supply and electricity. Welles and the Americans evacuated in September. Two weeks later, the officers surrendered to a group of sergeants (the battle became known as the Sergeant’s Revolt); but as the officers were leaving the hotel, the army opened fire. The ensuing battle lasted days and left eighty soldiers dead and two hundred wounded.
