General Mondragem, backed by his own troops and the students of the Military Train ing School at Tlapam, a suburb of the capi tal, rose against the government, 9 Feb. 1913, marched to the military prison and set free General Reyes, and from there to the peni tentiary and liberated Gen. Felix Diaz. Prac tically unopposed the three generals entered the capital, where Reyes was killed in an attack on the National Palace. The revolutionists seized The Citadel, a strong fortress and ammunition depository, while the Madero forces took session of the National Palace, Chapultepec and other points in and around the city. Both factions bombarded one another almost tinuously for 10 days, when Gen. Victorian Huerta, commander-in-chief of the ment forces, brought the conflict to a dramatic close by the seizure of President Madero and Pino Suarez, the Vice-President, who were forced to resign their respective offices. Pedro Lascurain, Minister of Foreign Relations ceeded to the presidency. He appointed Huerta his minister of foreign relations and resigned in his favor. Thus, in one day Mexico O had three Presidents, On the morning of 23 Feb ruary Madero and Pino Suarez were murdered, presumably by agents of the Huerta govern ment. For this act, Venustiano Carranza, gov ernor of Coahuila, disavowed the new govern ment and issued the Plan of Guadalupe which called for reforms in the administration, equi table taxation, extension of the educational sys tem and the solution of the land problem (March 26). President Wilson dispatched John Lind to Mexico City as his personal representative with a view to bringing the opposing parties together; but Huerta's refusal to be eliminated as a presidential candidate and his arrest and imprisonment of 110 Congres sional deputies and the forcible dissolution of Congress (10 and 11 October) made any com promise impossible. A new election held on 26 October, under pressure, resulted in the selection of Huerta as President. The new Congress, which met on 15 November, in view of a protest from Washington, declared void the election of the President and Vice-Presi dent but confirmed Huerta in the office of provisional President. The Constitutionalists determined to make no compromise with Huerta, and the war went on. Villa took Juarez 15 November; other important places fell and early in 1914 Villa captured Ojinaga, after the Federal garrison of 4,600 had re treated across the American border. Then turning southward he took Torreon in April, while Mazatlan and Tampico surrendered to the Constitutionalists in May, and Carranza set up his government in Saltillo.
Huerta found himself in constantly increas ing difficulties on account of his defiance of the United States. These difficulties had culmi nated when sailors from the United States steamship Dolpkin had been arrested in Tam pico 10,..April and marched through the city under armed guard. For this insult Admiral Mayo demanded that the Mexican government should order a salute to the American flag. This Huerta refused to concede; and President Wilson laid the matter before Congress 20 April, requesting authority to use the forces of the nation to enforce Mayo's demand. While Congress was debating this request American marines were forcibly landed in Vera Cruz to prevent the entrance at that port of a shipment of arms from the steamer /piranga. At this juncture Argentina, Brazil and Chile, known as the A B C powers, offered to serve as mediators. The dffer was accepted and the representatives of these powers at Washington met at Niagara Falls, Canada, 20 May to 24 June, without being able to find a solution for the troubled conditions in Mexico.
On the day they adjourned Gonzales took Zacatecas and, two weeks later, Obregon en tered Guadalajara; and in July, San Luis Potosi, Manzanillo and several smaller places fell to the Constitutionalists. Huerta, forced to resign, 15 July, was succeeded by Francisco Carbajal, Minister of Foreign Relations, who at once entered into communication with the Con stitutionalists and resigned in favor of Car ranza, 1.3 August. Two days later Obregon took possession of the capital, where Carranza arrived on 20 Aug. 1914.
With the elimination of Huerta and the suc cess of the Constitutionalists, bitter dissensions appeared in the heterogeneous elements tom posing the party. A convention of generals called to meet in Mexico aty on 1 October served only to intensify the trouble and the convention was moved to Aguascalientes, where, dominated by Villa, it disallowed the claims of Carranza and elected General Gutierrez pro visional President. It was also decided to march upon Mexico City and compel Carranza to yield to the will of the Convention. In the face of this threatened danger, the latter -went to Puebla and, from there, to Vera Cruz on the withdrawal of the American forces from Mexico 23 November. Zapata and Villa at once occupied the capital and Gutierrez set up his government there (3 December). In January 1915 the Convention, disowning Gutierrez, pro ceeded to govern Mexico City in its own name; but the approach of Obreg6n with a strong force compelled.it to abandon the capital, which was occupied (28. January) by the Carranza commander, who, in turn, was forced to retreat before a Zapatista horde, 10 March. Two weeks later Villa recognized as convention provisional President Gen. Roque Gonzalez Garza.
One of the dramatic incidents of the year was the siege of Naco, Sonora, by General Mayortena. Five Americans were killed and 50 or more wounded by shots coming across the border. Washington warned both the contend ing parties to refrain from firing into Ameri can territory. Early in January General Scott, representing the American government, and Villa held a conference at which. it was agreed to withdraw the contending forces from Naco. In the meantime the Convention. party was faring badly in the north. Guadalajara fell to Carranza and Villa was defeated at Celayo in March. Other disasters followed and finally Washington notified the Constitutional and Convention parties, 2 June, that unless peace was restored soon, the United States would be compelled to support some man or group of men capable of bringing order out of chaos. Meanwhile raids were being frequently made across the Texas border by bands from Mexico instigated from without Mexico by certain predatory interests, and finally, on the night of 9 March 1916, an armed band of Villistas at tacked Columbus, N. M., killing eight soldiers and a number of civilians. Washington at once acted, 17 March, and sent into Mexico 12,000 troops under General Pershing with orders to take Villa dead or alive. Carranza refused a request from the American government for per mission to ship, over the Northwestern Railway, supplies to Pershing's forces which were finally compelled to come to a halt at Parral, when several American soldiers were killed.ad others wounded in a surprise attack.