Arámbula, José Doroteo Arango

(1878–1923), was the caudillo of the state of Chihuahua, which – given its size, mineral wealth and proximity to the US – provided him with extensive resources. Villa and his supporters seized hacienda land for distribution to peasants and soldiers, robbed trains and, like other revolutionary generals, printed fiat money to pay for their cause. Villa’s dominance in northern Mexico was broken in 1915 through a series of defeats he suffered against Obregón. After Villa’s famous raid on Columbus, New Mexico, in 1916, US General John J. Pershing tried unsuccessfully to capture him during a nine-month pursuit that ended when the United States entered into World War I and Pershing was called back.
Villa retired in 1920 and was given a large estate, which he turned into a ‘military colony’ for his former soldiers. In 1923, he decided to re-enter Mexican politics and was, probably as a result of that, assassinated, most likely on the orders of Obregón.