Decena Trágica

The Ten Tragic Days (Decena Trágica) were ten days of fighting in Mexico City in which rebel soldiers rose against President Francisco I. Madero. General Victoriano Huerta, who was supposed to defend the government, betrayed Madero and seized power with the backing of the U.S. ambassador Henry Lane Wilson.

Madero and Vice President José María Pino Suárez were forced to resign and were murdered days later. Don’t confuse the Decena Trágica (1913) with La Noche Triste (1520), an episode of the Spanish Conquest.