Mabini was arrested by the American forces in September, 1899, and
remained a prisoner until September 23, 1900. Following his release,
he lived for a while in a suburb of Manila, in a poor nipa house,
under the most adverse and trying circumstances. He was in abject
poverty.

In spite of his terrible suffering from paralysis, Mabini continued
writing. He severely criticised the government, voicing the sentiments
of the Filipino people for freedom. He was ordered to desist, but to
this, in one of his writings to the people, he replied: "To tell a man
to be quiet when a necessity not fulfilled is shaking all the fibers
of his being is tantamount to asking a hungry man to be filled before
taking the food which he needs."

Mabini's logic was a real embarrassment to the American military
forces, and in January, 1901, he was arrested a second time by the
Americans. This time he was exiled to the island of Guam, where he
remained until his return to Manila on February 26, 1903.

Mabini died in Manila, of cholera, May 13, 1903, at the age of 39
years. His funeral was the most largely attended of any ever held in
Manila.

Although he died from natural causes, Mabini died a martyr to the
cause of Philippine independence. Five years of persecution left his
intense patriotism untouched, but it had made his physical self a
ready victim for a premature death.