"Sacramento"s first duty was in Mexican and Caribbean waters, and she arrived off Vera Cruz on 14 May 1914. "Sacramento" visited Dominican, Mexican, Nicaraguan, and Honduran ports repeatedly into 1916, protecting U.S. interests and observing uneasy local political conditions. Arriving at New Orleans on 17 March 1917, "Sacramento"s crew assisted U.S. Customs authorities in taking over the interned German merchant vessels "Breslau", "Andromeda", "Anna", "Louise", and "Teresa" after the U.S. entered World War I.