The name Villa Pancho resonates with Americans like a distant echo of history. We know he was an important revolutionary figure in Mexico, but no one taught him his exploits in history classes. All the Americans know is that he was a robber and a predator, but to mexicans he was more of a Robin Hood figure. He was a successful freedom fighter in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fought for land reform and led a revolution against Porfirio Díaz. Today, he is considered one of the most important figures in mexico's modern history.
One of the reasons Why Pancho Vera became such a fascinating figure was that no one really knew who he was before he became Pancho Vera. Born in José Doroto Arango Rambla, he claimed to be the son of a robber named Agustin Vera, but if this were true, no one would have written it down. By the age of 16, Vera was alone, traveling around the country on horseback, doing all sorts of humble jobs. At one point, he began to call himself "Arango" and joined the Durango bandit gang led by Ignacio Parra, which he looted until he was arrested in 1902. He was forced to join the Mexican Federal Army in place of the long-term prison service, but at the first opportunity, he killed an officer, mounted his horse, and changed his name to Pancho Vera.
After fleeing the army, Pancho Vera embarked on a series of legendary criminal deviances, redistributing his morally ambiguous interests. Eventually, his heroic deeds caught the attention of revolutionaries who planned to confront the Mexican government, who hoped that his experience in guerrilla tactics would make him a fortune in the years to come.
From October 1910 to May 1911, Vera served as military leader for Francisco Madero. Madero challenged President Porfirio Díaz in the 1910 election and soon found himself on the wrong side of the fascist regime. Vera's seizure of a manor by force before taking over a column of Confederate soldiers, was so radical and heroic that even if he was defeated in Tkrot, his legend would only grow.
Although Villa expanded the size of Madero's army by knocking out anyone who challenged his leadership, he often disagreed with Madero's leadership. After the defeat of Díaz, Madero disbanded his revolutionary army, but when Villa asked to reallocate the manor and the land he occupied during madero's tenure as an officer to those who fought for the manor, Madero rejected the idea. He told Vera that he intended to buy it from its rightful owner and decide what to do with it later.
Vera's disillusionment with Madero is shattered and he returns to where he does best. By 1913, he was inextricably linked to the revolutionary forces in northern Mexico, but instead of leading people into guerrilla warfare, he joined a group of mercenaries from the region to rob trains and finance the revolution.
After the most famous robbery of his time, he fled with 122 silver bars and an employee of Wells Fargo. He forced an employee at Wells Fargo to help him sell silver bars. In 1914, articles about Vera stealing cattle and stealing corn and gold nuggets from under the noses of the rich were published in the form of a book called Mexican Rebels, ensuring that his legend survived.
Vera was so popular with the Mexicans that in 1913 he was elected interim governor of Chihuahua. In this role, he strengthened the army with experienced tacticians and dominated the battlefield so hard that the U.S. military studied his actions, while Cosmos filmed his battles for news films, and Vera earned 20 percent of his income. It's not as sweet as it sounds, and according to an early film industry publication, Movie World, these films are more shots sweeping the landscape than exciting war scenes.
Despite the failure of the newsreel, Vera continues to do a great job in Mexico. He used the money he earned to bring in more horses and ammunition and built a motorized hospital out of railway carriages.
Previously, the U.S. government would offer him enthusiastic praise and weapons whenever he needed it, and in 1915, the U.S. government decided not to operate The Pancho Villa. President Wilson preferred a middle ground toward the military and the government, so he turned to support Karanza, the first commander-in-chief of the Constitutional Army.
Vera was never a sit-by-the-goer, and in response to the american change, he launched a cross-border attack on Columbus, New Mexico. During the battle against the 13th Calvary Regiment, Vera's soldiers fled with 100 horses, killing 18 American soldiers. Wilson sent U.S. troops into Mexico in search of Vera, but their efforts were fruitless because the gifted guerrilla had disappeared into Mexico.
After the assassination of the first chief Calanza in 1920, Vera made a deal with the Mexican government, when he was in his prime. Villa had essentially been on the run for years, but after learning of the enemy's death, he sent a message to interim President Adolf de la Hurta expressing support for the amnesty. Vera acquired a 25,000-acre estate in Chihuahua, and those loyal to him were allowed to live on the land as his personal bodyguards.
Three years later, on July 20, 1923, Vera was assassinated by a group of gunmen while running errands in Paral, Mexico, who poured 40 rounds of ammunition into his car. Thousands attended his funeral, but it wasn't his closest ally.