May 7, 2019 ▸ History, People

Episode 384: Pancho Villa: The Gangster Guerrilla of Mexico

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On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we head to the Old West and talk about the rebel, guerilla, and shaper of nations, Pancho Villa. He was born the son of a poor Mexican sharecropper in 1878. His name was originally Doroteo Arango. They lived the life of subsistence farmers, and his father died when he was only 15 years old, making him the head of the family. Shortly after that, a landowner tried to rape his sister, and Doroteo Arango shot him dead and fled on his horse. He was reborn as Poncho Villa.

Pancho Villa fled to the hills and joined a group of banditos. They did small time stuf: cattle theft, worked in some mines, and even graduated to bank robberies and other crimes. In short order, Pancho was the leader of the gang and was recruiting like crazy. He was even said to be a Robin Hood figure, robbing from the land owners and giving it to the poor farmers.

This is when the Mexican Game of Thrones action starts. There was a revolution against the dictator Porfirio Díaz, and the new guy recruited Pancho to run the North of Mexico in their rebellion. He excelled with his guerilla tactics and amazing charisma and founded one of the largest armies in Mexico.

So the guy Pancho Villa backed in the revolution became president and was soon assassinated. Then, Villa’s one time ally got him arrested for stealing his horse and eventually made a run to become president himself. Time after time, people took power, and Pancho Villa and his one true ally Emiliano Zapata fought against them.

Pancho Villa was so good at his hit and run style warfare that the US Army took note and asked Pancho to teach them a thing or two. This led to an alliance between Villa and President Woodrow Wilson which lasted until it didn’t, and Wilson wanted Villa dead. Pancho Villa sacked American cities just to prove he could, took over rail road lines, sold stolen cattle to make a fortune and pay for his army, and deposed dictator after dictator through his crazy life.

He was said to have had 70 wives through Mexico, and eventually died at the hands of 7 assassins who gunned him down in his car three years after he hung up his guns. If you like twists and turns and political intrigue, this is the episode for you. If you don’t, listen to it anyway: we recorded it on Cinco de Mayo and everything!