Border town invaded by Pancho Villa rejects talk of American troops

[left-of-center2012]

COLUMBUS, N.M. — A small New Mexico border town once attacked by Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa is rejecting talk of a wall and troops while embracing its legacy to draw tourists.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has cited Villa's 1916 raid of Columbus as an example of why President Donald Trump was deploying active-duty troops along the U.S.-Mexico border. "It's just an excuse," said Roberto Gutierrez, 63, who owns a grocery store in Columbus. "Ever since then, people on both sides go back and forth (between the U.S. and Mexico) with no problem."

Residents of Columbus say those living on both sides of the border in the area have co-existed peacefully since the Villa invasion. They say the raid was a phenomenon of a different era, and that using it to justify tighter border security ignores more pressing needs such as economic development and better roads.

Columbus Mayor Esequiel Salas said people in town rarely complain about border security or talk about a wall to replace its existing fence. He said he hears more complaints about a lack of housing for seniors and the need for more high-paying jobs in the area than about the raid 102 years ago.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/11/23/border-town-invaded-by-pancho-villa-rejects-talk-of-american-troops/

[marybourg]

1. When we visited Columbus, there were still

people alive who remembered the raid. The telephone switchboard operators were real heros, staying at their boards, calling residents to alert them, while bullets were flying all around them.