Victoriano Huerta papers. Creator: Huerta, Victoriano, Extent: 0. Repository: Rivera Library. Special Collections Department. Riverside, CA Abstract: The Victoriano Huerta papers is a collection of three documents, which mainly relate to Victoriano Huerta's military history before he became the President of Mexico in The collection includes a ledger documenting donations to Huerta's forces during the Mexican Revolution in , an account of his command of the 3rd Infantry Battalion from , and a brief overview of his military history and accomplishments until Copyright Unknown : Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.
Although they did not work together in the sense of coordinated attacks, they were still loosely united in their heartfelt desire that anyone but Huerta should rule Mexico. Even the United States got in on the action: sensing that Huerta was unstable, President Woodrow Wilson sent forces to occupy the important port of Veracruz. In June , Pancho Villa moved his massive force of 20, soldiers to attack the strategic city of Zacatecas. The Federals dug in on two hills overlooking the city. In a day of intense fighting, Villa captured both hills and the federal forces were forced to flee.
What they didn't know was that Villa had stationed part of his army along the escape route. The fleeing federals were massacred. When the smoke had cleared, Pancho Villa had scored the most impressive military victory of his career and 6, federal soldiers were dead. Huerta knew his days were numbered after the crushing defeat at Zacatecas. When word of the battle spread, federal troops defected in droves to the rebels.
On July 15, Huerta resigned and left for exile, leaving Francisco Carbajal in charge until Carranza and Villa could decide how to proceed with the government of Mexico. Huerta moved around while in exile, living in Spain, England, and the United States.
Reunited with Orozco in New Mexico in mid, he began to plan his triumphant return to power. They were caught by US federal agents, however, and never even crossed the border. Orozco escaped only to be hunted down and shot by Texas rangers. Huerta was imprisoned for inciting rebellion. He died in prison at El Paso, Texas, on January 13, , of cirrhosis, although there were rumors that the Americans had poisoned him. There is little to be said that is positive about Huerta.
Even before the revolution, he was a widely despised figure for his ruthless repression of native populations all over Mexico. He was an able commander, as his military victories prove, but his men did not like him and his enemies absolutely despised him. These rebel commanders only ever agreed on one thing: Huerta should not be president. Once he was gone, they began fighting one another, leading to the worst years of the brutal revolution. Madero , and later had him executed.
Huerta's regime was marked by extreme brutality against his opponents and the Mexican population in general, and his excesses resulted in a coalition of prominent Mexican military and political figures that united to overthrow him. Huerta was born in Colotlan, Mexico, in to Indian parents.
He was educated at the Chapultepec Military College and graduated as an officer in the Mexican army. In units of the army in Mexico City rebelled against Madero, and Huerta joined forces with them.
Madero was forced to resign, and Huerta took over the presidency. Several days later Madero was shot on Huerta's orders. In March , however, Pascual Orozco announced his opposition to the Madero government. After an overwhelming victory at the battle of Rellano on March 23, Orozco's next objective seemed likely to be Mexico City, where panic prevailed. Under pressure from his cabinet, Madero agreed to bring Huerta back, and appointed him head of the federal forces on April 1.
On May 22—23 Huerta crushed the rebels at the second battle of Rellano. This battle was the turning point in the campaign against Orozco, and made Huerta a national military hero. He continued pushing Orozco north, but the relationship between Huerta and Madero again grew tense. Madero's brothers intervened, however, and instead sent Villa to Mexico City, where he was imprisoned briefly.
Huerta was furious at this interference in his control of the army; rumors flew that he was about to turn against Madero, and in late July the president recalled him to Mexico City for questioning. Huerta's answers apparently satisfied Madero, however, for a few weeks later the president authorized his promotion to division general. Huerta returned to the north, where the rumors persisted, but returned to Mexico City in mid-October for cataract surgery.
While the general was recuperating, Madero announced that Huerta had resigned. Reyes suggested recruiting Huerta, but Huerta declined; though he certainly had no love for Madero, he apparently was concerned that the rebels might not give him a prominent position in the new government. Huerta offered his services to Madero, who named him interim commander of the loyal troops. For the next week fighting raged in the capital; finally, probably on February 16, Huerta reached agreement with the Felicistas.
On the following day the president's brother Gustavo Madero arrested Huerta and took him to the president for questioning. Once again, however, Huerta apparently succeeded in convincing Madero of his loyalty. Madero ordered Huerta's release and chastised his brother. On February 18 Madero himself was arrested, and flyers were distributed announcing that Huerta had assumed executive powers. Huerta, whose conduct had embroiled him in a storm of controversy, did little to help his own cause.
He announced that he would place Madero on trial for political crimes, but on the night of February 22, while being transferred from the National Palace to the Federal District Penitentiary, Madero was assassinated. The official version of his death, that he had been killed accidentally during a gunfight with a group of Maderistas who had attempted to free him, found few believers.
Though the evidence is circumstantial, Huerta's complicity in the murder is commonly accepted; at any rate, the Huertistas expressed little regret over Madero's death. The assassination ended any hope of early recognition of the Huerta government by the United States, and merely confirmed the opposition of those in Mexico who had not already sworn allegiance to Huerta.
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