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On December 18, 1915, General Francisco (Pancho) Villa, one of the leading figures in the Mexican Revolution that had begun in November 1910, all but conceded defeat, declaring his intention to leave Mexico and go into political exile.
After a war council of his followers in Chihuahua impressed upon him the hopelessness of a continued fight against the forces of General Venustiano Carranza, who was backed by the US government, Villa declared: “It is no use. For five years I have fought the enemies of our great republic, and I have lost. Now I am whipped … That men surrounding me were self-seeking and traitors to the cause of Mexican liberty I cannot help…
“Had it not been for the traitorous alliance with the United States, I would have vanquished Carranza, but the great country to the north, which professed friendship to me, is all powerful now that Europe is at war, and I can do nothing but bow my head to superior force.”
Villa, who had been born to poor parents in the state of Durango, was known as the “Robin Hood of Chihuahua” for his attacks on wealthy landlords. He had become a leading general in the army of liberal-reformer Francisco Madero, who replaced longstanding dictator Porfirio Díaz in 1911. When Victoriano Huerta, a right-wing military general, overthrew and murdered Madero and installed himself as president, Villa led a revolt in Chihuahua in alliance with Carranza, another prominent figure in the revolution.
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