and the rebels quickly retreated. On March 26, another group headed by José Nicolás Quiñones Torres and Ramón Torres attempted to fight the Spaniards in a barrio called "Quebradas" of Yauco, however said revolt, the last against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico, also failed. Over 150 rebels were arrested, accused of various crimes against the state and sent to prison in the City of Ponce. Maldonado escaped and hid in a sugar cane field. While in hiding, he shot a person known as Emilio, who betrayed him and threatened to tell the authorities of his whereabouts. Maldonado then met with fellow rebel Abelardo Moscoso and went into exile in New York City where he met with the Cuban Revolutionary Committee and joined the Cuban Liberation Army. Maldonado fought in Cuba against the Spaniards and was wounded. After his return to Puerto Rico, Maldonado and his men continued to harass the Spanish Civil Guard. According to Edwin A. Emerson, Jr., an American spy pretending to be a German journalist, in a story published by Century Magazine in September 1898, he (Emerson) met "Águila Blanca" with the help of a local. Emerson was trying to make his way back to a ship which would take him away from Puerto Rico when he realized that an attack on San Juan by the United States was sure to occur. Emerson stated that he came upon Don "Pepe," as Maldonado was also known, and six of his men. Maldonado and his men, who were armed with machetes and rifles, asked Emerson what were his plans to which Emerson replied that he would like to reach the coast. Two Spanish soldiers arrived and Emerson, together with Don "Pepe" and his men, chased after them. After the chase, the insurgents asked Emerson when will the Americans come to help liberate them from the Spaniards, to which Emerson answered "very soon." After the Spanish–American War Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898, ratified on December 10, 1898. The United States established a military government and appointed Major General Nelson A. Miles, the first head of the military government, established on the island, acting as both head of the army of occupation and administrator of civil affairs. Many Puerto Ricans, among them Maldonado, believed that Puerto Rico would gain its independence however, almost immediately, the United States began