Joancy Estevez Dr. Amy Hay History 1302 Sec. 07 April 17, 2016 The U.S. punitive expedition into Mexico was a decision taken by the president Woodrow Wilson in 1916 against the Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa, but that later threatened to sever ties between the two countries by bringing them into direct conflict which resulted into almost a serious war. According to the U.S. Department of State (2009), only careful diplomatic schemes by US president Woodrow Wilson and Mexican president Venustiano Carranza resolved the crisis averting a looming war. Pancho Villa was a revolutionary Mexican leader who controlled much of Mexico’s northeastern parts in 19145-1915. Pancho experienced military setbacks when he broke with Venustiano Carranza’s …show more content…
Before that, there had been earlier raids by the administration of President Wilson and he easily considered an expedition across the Mexican border. The secretary of war Newton Baker was ordered by Wilson to organize the expedition and pursue Villa. Wilson then tried to appease Carranza by asserting that the raid was conducted with a careful consideration of Mexico’s sovereignty. Nevertheless, the Mexican president considered Wilson’s raid as a violation of Mexico’s sovereignty and he therefore refused to assist the US in its expedition (US Department of State, 2009, …show more content…
It also covered the punitive expedition as was one of the incidents that saw the US and almost come so close to war that was it not by the intervention of President Woodrow Wilson and his Mexican counterpart Carranza that the war was averted. Generally, the punitive expedition was and still is considered a failure to Pershing, his troops and to the Americans as they never got to catch Villa. Pershing and his troops were in Mexico for 11 months and they failed to capture the revolutionary leader. Nonetheless, it can also be seen as a success as the troops were able to engage Villa and keep him away from attacking American cities and its people. The invasion to some extent was used by the troops as a training ground and testing of new military equipments in readiness for the war with Germans. The altercation later led over Mexican resources and US corporate and power control concerns that resulted to a further disagreement over oil nationalization in