Why did Spain send Valeriano Weyler to Cuba in 1896?

Spain sent General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau to Cuba in 1896 to quell the ongoing Cuban Independence Movement, which had resumed in 1895. By early 1896, rebel forces had successfully gained control over most of the island, prompting the Spanish government to replace Arsenio Martínez Campos with Weyler to suppress the insurgency.123

To achieve this, Weyler implemented a brutal policy known as "reconcentration". By forcing hundreds of thousands of rural residents into camps in and around towns and cities, he intended to deprive the revolutionaries of the civilian support and resources they relied upon. This strategy proved disastrous for the local population, as thousands died from starvation, disease, and exposure due to the lack of adequate provisions. These harsh measures were later exploited by yellow journalism in the United States, which helped inflame American public opinion against Spanish rule and contributed to the eventual outbreak of the Spanish-American War.2341