Villa's chief adviser. Senor Cardoso, a pronounced Clerical, a friend of Villa, and a violent enemy of Carranza, became Wilson's diplomatic agent at Mexico City. With the assistance of these men and other special agents, and under the direction of Bryan, the State Department became a pro-Villa anti-Carranza press agency.
An American General carried to Villa the President's assurance that he would never, under any circumstances, recognize Carranza.
When the Constitutionalist Party failed to go to pieces, as expected, Wilson proceeded to assist Villa militantly against it. In January (1915) Carranza felt obliged to prohibit the use of code messages by Consuls between his territory and territory under the control of Villa. It was said that American consular agents, acting as Villa spies in the Carranza camps, were abusing their privileges to transmit military information, via U. S. code, to other consular representatives in the Villa camp, who then turned the information over to Villa.
The following month Carranza was moved to issue a sweeping order forbidding his military chieftains from having any dealings whatever with confidential agents of foreign governments. In his explanation of the order, Carranza referred to the "painful experience" involving "the defection of General Villa." It was said that American consular agents were attempting to foment the rebellion of other military leaders of the Constitutionalist party.
When, at the end of January, Obregon drove the Villistas from Mexico City, the Government of the United States came along with a series of demands, protests, threats, and hostile maneuvers, calculated to make the Constitutionalist position untenable.
Obregon demanded the surrender of a Spaniard, Angel del Caso, one-time Villa agent at Washington, who had taken refuge in the Spanish Legation. Backed by Cardoso, Wilson's agent, the Spanish Minister refused to surrender the fugitive. Whereupon Carranza gave the Spanish Minister, Caro, twenty-four hours in which to get out of Mexico. Bryan sent a note, threatening "serious consequences," should Caro be expelled. Carranza courteously cited an American precedent for his act, and proceeded to expel Caro. The latter was taken aboard an
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