Why did President Woodrow Wilson send General John J. Pershing into Mexico in 1916?

President Woodrow Wilson ordered General John J. Pershing to lead a punitive expedition into Mexico in 1916 primarily in response to a cross-border raid led by Francisco “Pancho” Villa on the U.S. town of Columbus, New Mexico.12

On March 9, 1916, Villa’s forces attacked the town, burning homes and killing approximately 17 inhabitants. This raid followed an earlier incident in January 1916, in which Villa executed about 17 U.S. citizens at Santa Isabel, Mexico, to demonstrate the lack of control held by the government of Venustiano Carranza in northern Mexico. Villa, having lost significant support and military standing, sought to provoke a conflict between the United States and Mexico through these aggressive actions.231

In response, Wilson dispatched Pershing’s column into Mexico in "hot pursuit" of Villa. However, the mission proved futile as Villa successfully eluded capture, and the deeper U.S. forces penetrated into Mexican territory, the more the Carranza government grew agitated, eventually leading to the withdrawal of U.S. troops.23