Abstract

GRIJALVA DAVILA, Miguel Ángel. Estrada’s Army: A dissection of a frustrated rebellion on the northern border, 1926-1927. Hist. mex. [online]. 2022, vol.72, n.1, pp.165-209.  Epub June 20, 2022. ISSN 2448-6531.  https://doi.org/10.24201/hm.v72i1.4489.

This is the history of the army of Enrique Estrada, a group of exiled rebels based out of California, who planned to cross over into Mexico and overthrow the government of Plutarco Elías Calles in August 1926. They were detained by the U.S. authorities, arrested and tried. The objective is to better understand the circumstances in which exiles organized armed incursions from the U.S., bilateral efforts to prevent these incursions and the composition of Estrada’s group.

Priority was given to the documentation held by the National Archives of Record Administration (NARA) in the state of Maryland, which includes documents on the investigation into this armed group and its later trial. This documentation has been little explored by Mexican historiography.

The article’s most meaningful contributions lie in the use of these sources, as well as in revealing the obstacles, challenges and complications faced by exiles when planning a rebellion from the U.S., something that was often repeated during the revolutionary period, but has been little researched. Lastly, the article suggests the relationships between the agencies of both governments, in this case their security and intelligence agencies, were autonomous and independent of formal diplomatic relations.

Keywords : Exile; Border; Army; Mexican Revolution; United States Security Agencies.

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