HUECHOL-MESTIZO VICTORIANO HUERTA BORN– MEXICAN GENERAL & PRESIDENT
Born in Agua Gorda, State of Jalisco, both parents were Huichol; his father also Mestizo. In 1872, Huerta entered Chapultepec National Military College. Joining the Corps of Engineers, he ensured that his men got paid, even robbing banks to do so. As a general, he was favored by dictator Porfirio Díaz. Huerta was serving as chief of staff for Diaz’s successor, President Francisco Madero, when the army rebelled against Madero in 1913. Huerta forced Madero to resign, assumed the presidency, had Madero shot, and established a military dictatorship. Immediately he was confronted by constitutionalist forces led by Venustiano Carranza, Álvaro Obregón, Pancho Villa, and Emiliano Zapata. President Woodrow Wilson, newly elected, refused to recognize Huerta, sent troops to occupy Veracruz, and permitted arms to reach the rebels. Huerta resigned in 1914 and fled to Spain. He went to the U.S. in 1915, but was arrested for fomenting rebellion in Mexico. Huerta died in custody at Fort Bliss on July 15, 1914.
Source: “Victoriano Huerta,” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 9/17/2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victoriano-Huerta Photo: Bain News Service, 2/18/1912. Public Domain. Part of the George Grantham Bain Collection at the Library of Congress [ggbain 13949].
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