Orozco and Two of His Fighters

Pascual Orozco (1882-1915), small-time entrepreneur, storekeeper and muleteer from the state of Chihuahua, objected to the Porfirio Díaz dictatorship, and first ran into trouble with the law when caught with anti-Díaz literature in 1906. When Francisco I. Madero called for an uprising against Díaz in 1910, Orozco supported him and was placed in command of the revolutionary forces in Guerrero. Together with the troops of Pancho Villa and Madero, he captured several key towns in Northern Mexico, amongst them Ciudad Juarez. The alliance between the three commanders was uneasy and led to several quarrels. Orozco was a cruel and ruthless commander. When Porfirio Diaz had to resign and Madero came to power, he saw Orozco as violent bumpkin, not useful in his government. Consequently, Orozco was upset with Madero because he was not part of the new regime and also because of Madero's failure to implement social reforms which he had promised. Together with his men Orozco then fought against Madero. After the assassination of Madero in 1913, he became one of Victoriano Huerta's generals. However, Orozco and Huerta's troops could not withstand their opponents and they finally went into exile. Traveling around the U. S. to get support for a new revolution, both were arrested on their way to El Paso and charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. neutrality laws in 1915. Orozco was placed under house arrest in his family's home at 1315 Wyoming Avenue in El Paso but managed to escape. In August he was killed by Texas Rangers. On September, 3 1915 Orozco's remains were buried on Concordia Cemetery in El Paso, at the decision of his wife dressed in a full Mexican general's uniform, with the Mexican flag draping his coffin. In 1923, his remains were returned to his home state of Chihuahua.

Area: Out of Area / Ciudad Juarez