Aureliano Blanquet

Aureliano Blanquet (Morelia, Michoacán, 31 de diciembre de 1849 – 15 de abril de 1919 Barranca de Chavaxtla, Huatusco, Veracruz) was a general of the Federal Army during the Mexican Civil War. He was a key participant in the coup d'état during the Decena trágica. Blanquet has been identified "as one of the major villains of the Mexican Revolution".

Balanquet was born in 1849 in Morelia, Michoacán. At 18 he joined the Republican forces besieging the city of Queretaro where the last of Emperor Maximilian's Imperial troops had been trapped. After the surrender Balanquet served as a member of the firing squad which executed Maximilian and two of his generals.

In 1877 Blanquet enlisted in the regular Federal Army. Under Porfirio Diaz he made steady but unspectacular advancement. While holding the rank of captain he was involved in the suppression of a Maya rising in Yucatan during the 1890s.

In July 1911 Blanquet commanded federal troops stationed in Puebla. On July 12 a group of armed men fired shots at the rival Maderistas and fled into the federal army barracks. The incident erupted into an all-out battle in which Blanquet defeated the Maderistas. 46 were killed, including women and children. On the next day Madero publicly hugged Blanquet and cleared him of any wrongdoing; he ordered radical Maderistas to surrender arms to Blanquet's Federales and go home. The Puebla Incident also created international tension after the fleeing Maderistas killed German and Spanish expatriates who stood in their way.

During May 1912 Blanquet served under General Victoriano Huerta, leading the 29th Infantry Battalion in the successful suppression of the Orozquista revolt against the Madero government.

...
Wikipedia