More On Villa from Wikipedia....
In 1911, with U.S. support, Villa helped defeat the federal army of Porfirio Díaz in favour of Francisco I. Madero. Following Madero's removal from power, General Victoriano Huerta sentenced Villa to death for insubordination. Villa escaped to the U.S. border until it was safe. After that, Villa again rebelled against former allies, first against Huerta, later against Venustiano Carranza. Carranza, in an attempt to appease both Villa and Emiliano Zapata offered them both great ranches (haciendas). Villa accepted his offer while Zapata did not. This is one of the reasons that the reputation of Villa as a revolutionary/folk hero has been debated.
On March 9, 1916, Villa led 1,500 Mexican raiders in a cross-border attack against Columbus, New Mexico, in response to the U.S. government's official recognition of the Carranza regime. They attacked a US Cavalry detachment, seized 100 horses and mules, burned the town, and killed 17 of its residents.
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson responded by sending 12,000 troops, under Gen. John J. Pershing, into Mexico on March 15 to pursue Villa. In the U.S., this was known as the Pancho Villa Expedition. During the search, the United States launched its first air combat mission when eight aeroplanes lifted off on March 19. The expedition to capture Villa was called off as a failure on January 28, 1917.
Pancho Villa's bullet-ridden Dodge in the Pancho Villa Museum in Chihuahua, Chih.In 1920, Villa ended his revolutionary actions. He was assassinated three years later in Parral, Chihuahua. As a perceived rebel against injustice and abuse, and despite the violent excesses he undeniably committed, Villa is still remembered in Mexico as a folk hero.
German involvement?
Contemporary historians debate whether Villa was involved with the Germans and how much aid and information passed through them. Some contend that the Germans encouraged Villa's actions against U.S. interests and his incursions into Texas and New Mexico, with the aim of fomenting instability on the southern border of a power they definitely did not want interfering in World War I. Other actions by the Germans, such as the Zimmermann Telegram, indicate a desire on their part to destabilize the United States. The extent of Villa's role as an abettor of German interests and receiver of German aid is still very much in question, but the idea would not seem to be in contradiction with his opportunistic tendencies.
Quotes
"If I ever catch you again, I will kill you." — (Pancho Villa would capture U.S. soldiers and spare them by cutting one of their ears off, and he said these words upon releasing them.)
"It can't end like this. Tell them I said something." — Last words.