Why did the U.S. government send troops in pursuit of Pancho Villa?
Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa (1878–1923) was sought by the U.S. government because, in 1916, he and his followers had attacked Americans on both sides of the Mexican-American border. The previous year the United States had decided it would support the acting head of Mexico, Venustiano Carranza, even as he faced attacks from two of his fellow revolutionaries, Emiliano Zapata (1879–1919) and Villa. Four years earlier, Villa had himself sought to control Mexico after the fall of President Profirio Díaz (1830–1915). Villa was a fierce fighter with a reputation as a bandit. When the United States cut off ammunition to the rebels, he sought revenge on Americans living in Mexico by stopping trains and shooting passengers. In 1916 Villa raided Columbus, a small New Mexico village, where he killed eighteen people. The attack…
