Pancho Villa launched his attack on
Columbus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916, from Palomas. In retaliation, the United States launched the
Pancho Villa Expedition, under General
John J. Pershing, to capture him. Notwithstanding more than a year of effort, including one of the first large-scale uses of motorized transport by the
U.S. Army, Pancho Villa was not captured. During this campaign, a young Lt.
George S. Patton, later to be known as General Patton, became famous. During his service and accompanied by ten soldiers of the
6th Infantry Regiment, Patton killed two Mexican leaders, including "General"
Julio Cárdenas, commander of Villa's personal bodyguard. For this action, as well as Patton's affinity for the
Colt Peacemaker, Pershing titled Patton his "Bandito." Patton's success in this regard gained him a level of fame in the United States, and he was featured in newspapers across the nation. In May 1955,
Che Guevara visited Puerto Palomas for two days following a stop in
Chihuahua City, where he met with Cuban exiles who offered to smuggle small arms from the
United States for use by Cuban revolutionaries. Guevara insisted on visiting the town to pay his respects to
Pancho Villa, whose legacy he deeply admired. While in Puerto Palomas, he also met with a small group of
Magonista activists and was reportedly impressed by their pamphleteering despite their limited numbers. During the 1950s, Puerto Palomas exerted a notable influence on Mexican leftist thought despite its small population, owing to its proximity to the
Mexico–United States border and
Ciudad Juárez. The town’s connections to leftist intellectual circles in Juárez and nearby
El Paso made it an active point of exchange for socialist and anarchist ideas in northern Mexico. ==Education==