1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. This week we had an episode that was 2 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:08,799 Speaker 1: focused on the Buffalo Soldiers, and we've chosen today's Saturday 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,960 Speaker 1: Classic because the Buffalo Soldiers were part of it as well. 4 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: It's the Battle of Ambos Nogales, which took place in 5 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: nineteen eighteen and led to the construction of the first 6 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 1: permanent wall along the US Mexico border. We mentioned a 7 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: punitive expedition into Mexico in Passing in this episode, and 8 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: the Buffalo Soldiers tenth Cavalry was part of that as well. Also, 9 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: please excuse how we pronounced Gadsden Purchase. I typed it wrong, 10 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: not once, but twice, and our mouths just trusted that 11 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,319 Speaker 1: I knew what I was doing. This originally came out 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: August twenty second, twenty eighteen, So enjoy. Welcome to Stuff 13 00:00:50,320 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, 14 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and 15 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Frye. At this point, I think most of 16 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: our listeners have probably heard that we launched a new 17 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 1: podcast in July. I called This Day in History Class. 18 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 1: One of the side effects of starting a show that 19 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 1: is daily and talks about something that happened on that 20 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,399 Speaker 1: day in history is that as you're figuring out what 21 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: to talk about, you find episodes that are also going 22 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: to be good on Stuffy miss in History Class. And 23 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: that's how today's episode came to be. August twenty seventh, 24 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen, is the one hundredth anniversary of the Battle 25 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,399 Speaker 1: of Ambos Nogiles, and that was an international incident at 26 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: the US Mexico border in Arizona on the United States 27 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: side and in Sonora on the Mexican side. So now 28 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: you know what I'm going to talk about on the 29 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: August twenty seventh episode of this Day in History Class. 30 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: But we are going to cover it in way more 31 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: detail here because that show is only five minutes long. Also, 32 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: I know we have lots of teachers listening with their 33 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: students and parents listening with maybe younger kids. There is 34 00:01:57,640 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: one bit of strong language that comes up in this 35 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: episode and some quoted material. I don't really consider it 36 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: to be a swear, but I know other people would 37 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: have the opposite opinion, like maybe my mom, so, yeah, 38 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: like we spelled out the word but butt when we 39 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: were children because that was a bad really yeah, so, uh, 40 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: if you think that might apply to you, maybe give 41 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: this one an advanced listen to just make sure that 42 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: that one particular thing is not going to be an issue. 43 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: But it is not the word but to be it 44 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: is not. But so we walked through some very basic 45 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 1: history of the American Southwest recently when we talked about 46 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,519 Speaker 1: the zoot Suit riots. But we know not everyone listens 47 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: to every episode, So we're going to give you a 48 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: quick recap. After Europeans arrived in North America, what is 49 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: now the southwestern United States was claimed by Spain. New 50 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: Spain declared its independence in eighteen ten, which kicked off 51 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: a war that lasted until eighteen twenty. The war ended 52 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: when Spain finally recognized Mexico as an independent nation. The 53 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: Mexican state of Sonora was formally established in eighteen twenty four. 54 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: Then the Mexican American War began in eighteen forty six 55 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: and it ended in eighteen forty eight. After that, Mexico 56 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: seeded a large stretch of land to the United States. 57 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: This included a lot of what would become the Southwestern States, 58 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: but it did not include the southernmost parts of Arizona 59 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: or New Mexico. The United States bought that territory in 60 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,640 Speaker 1: the Glasden Purchase, which was finalized in eighteen fifty four, 61 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: and Arizona became a state in nineteen twelve. So obviously 62 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: a super quick recap that is, hundreds of years of 63 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: history in two paragraphs and not even including anything about 64 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: the indigenous people who were already living there. So two cities, 65 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: both named Nogalis, were established, one on each side of 66 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: the border after the Glasden purchase, but before Arizona's statehood. 67 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: The name Nogalis is derived from the Spanish word for walnut, 68 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: and collectively the two cities are called Ambos Nogals or 69 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: both Nogalas. These cities were established after a railroad was 70 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: planned that would connect Mexico and the United States, running 71 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 1: from Tucson almost due south to Guimus on the Gulf 72 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,840 Speaker 1: of California. On the US side, Jacob and Isaac Isaacson 73 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: established a trading post at the border along the proposed 74 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: train route in eighteen eighty At first they called it Isaacson, 75 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: but they changed the name to Nogals on June fourth, 76 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,160 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty three. On the Mexican side, the Mexican government 77 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: authorized the establishment of a customs office at the border 78 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: along the same train route on August second of eighteen 79 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: eighty That train line was finished in eighteen eighty two. 80 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: Soon Ambos Nogalis was the most important border crossing between 81 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: Arizona and Sonora. Its population grew quickly, and by the 82 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: late nineteen teens there were nearly four thousand people living 83 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: on the Sonora side and a little more than five 84 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,840 Speaker 1: thousand people living in Arizona. These two cities were divided 85 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: only by a broad boulevard that was called International Street. 86 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: There were only two visible signs that International Street was 87 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: really an international border. One was Boundary Monument one twenty two. 88 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: This was an obelisk. It still stands today. It marks 89 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: the exact position of the border, and that replaced an 90 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: earlier marker that had fallen apart in eighteen ninety three. 91 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: The other clue was this wide expanse of empty territory 92 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: on either side of the line. Mexico had built Nogalles, 93 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,359 Speaker 1: Sonora with buildings that were at least fifty feet or 94 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: fifteen meters away from the border. Buildings in Nogalles, Arizona 95 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:40,920 Speaker 1: were initially built a lot closer, but in the eighteen nineties, 96 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: by presidential proclamation, everything that was within sixty feet or 97 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: eighteen meters of the line was torn down. This was 98 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: an attempt to curb smuggling, basically, with the idea that 99 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: without a bunch of buildings to hide in between, it 100 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: would be harder to smuggle. Did not actually do much 101 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 1: to deter smuggling. For the first decades of the city's histories, 102 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: it was really easy to cross from one Nogalles to another. 103 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: You just walked across the street. That wide expanse of 104 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: empty land was also a popular place for both Mexican 105 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 1: and American children to play. Even though these were two cities, 106 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: one in the US and the other in Mexico, they 107 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: functioned more like one binational community that happened to straddle 108 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:25,279 Speaker 1: an international border. Citizens of one country often had families, jobs, 109 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: or property on the other. This pretty much open border 110 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: in Ambos Nogalles became increasingly guarded starting around nineteen ten, 111 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:37,160 Speaker 1: at the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. The Mexican Revolution 112 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: was a long and extremely complicated conflict that involved numerous 113 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:46,480 Speaker 1: revolutionary factions. It led to millions of deaths. Violence associated 114 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: with the revolution also threatened American cities all along the 115 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:54,279 Speaker 1: border with Mexico, including Nogallas, Arizona. Mexican border cities like 116 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:59,359 Speaker 1: Nogalas Sonora also became particularly important during the revolution because 117 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 1: controlling them made it easier for revolutionaries to cross into 118 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 1: the United States to purchase weapons and supplies. In nineteen thirteen, 119 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: Constitutionalist forces lay siege to Nogals Sonora, which meant that 120 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 1: the Mexican Revolution was being fought literally across the street 121 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 1: from an American city. After several days of fighting, in 122 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: which several American soldiers and civilians were wounded by stray gunfire, 123 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: the federal forces in Nogalles Sonora crossed the border and 124 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: surrendered to the Americans. The violence continued in the area 125 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: into nineteen fifteen during Panchovia's campaign in northern Mexico, and 126 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: this led to troops from the United States Army being 127 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: deployed all over the border to try to protect Americans 128 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: against the possible spillover of violence from Mexico. During VIA's campaign, 129 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: the governor of Sonora also put up a barbed wire 130 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: fence through Nogles to act as a deterrent, but that 131 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: was taken down after just a few months. Although Panchovia's 132 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: men didn't ultimately invade Nogalles, Arizona, there was a lot 133 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: of tension between Mexicans and Americans as his campaign was 134 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:08,600 Speaker 1: going on. There were understandable fears and frustrations stemming from 135 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: being right across the border from an ongoing revolution for 136 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 1: five solid years, but these tensions were also fueled by racism. 137 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: This erupted into a riot in August of nineteen fifteen 138 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: when a white mob in Arizona tried to force Mexicans 139 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: across the border into Sonora, and then on March ninth, 140 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:33,119 Speaker 1: nineteen sixteen, Ponchovia attacked Columbus, New Mexico. Although Ambos Noogailis 141 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: wasn't directly involved in this, the attack nearly took the 142 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: United States and Mexico to war, and it made things 143 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 1: even more tense and numerous American cities near the border. 144 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 1: This was one of the factors in the Bisbee deportation, 145 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: which we talked about earlier this year. After the attack 146 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: on Columbus, the United States mounted what was known as 147 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: the Punitive Expedition to try to hunt down Panchovia. The 148 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: National Guard units were sent to cities all over the border, 149 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: including Nogalas, to guard them from potential attack. Meanwhile, World 150 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: War One started in nineteen fourteen, and in early nineteen seventeen, 151 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: a telegram from German Foreign Secretary Arthur's Zimmermann was intercepted 152 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 1: and decoded. In this telegram, Germany pledged to return Arizona, 153 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 1: New Mexico, and Texas to Mexico. Mexico joined the war 154 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: and fought against the United States. So after nearly a 155 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: decade of ongoing threats stemming from the Mexican Revolution, Americans 156 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: were now also afraid that Mexico was going to go 157 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 1: from being neutral in the war to actively fighting against 158 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: the United States, even though the fact that there was 159 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: still a revolution going on and it had been going 160 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:45,160 Speaker 1: on for years made that pretty unlikely. The Zimmerman Telegram 161 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 1: was a major factor in the United States decision to 162 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: finally enter World War One in April of nineteen seventeen, 163 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: and when that happened, the National Guard troops that had 164 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: been stationed along the US Mexico border were called up 165 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: to federal service, placing them in Nogalis, where the U. 166 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: S Army's thirty fifth Infantry and tenth Cavalry Regiments. The 167 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: tenth Cavalry was an all black unit under the command 168 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: of white officers, and was better known as part of 169 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,720 Speaker 1: the Buffalo Soldiers. As in other cities on the border, 170 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:18,080 Speaker 1: a rifle club was also established in Nogalis, which was 171 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 1: meant to act as a civilian fighting force if one 172 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:25,760 Speaker 1: was needed. On January eighteenth, nineteen eighteen, a German agent 173 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:31,400 Speaker 1: named Lotharvitske was apprehended in Nogalis, Sonora. He had an 174 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: encrypted letter on his person that was addressed to the 175 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: German ambassador in Mexico City. It read, in part quote 176 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 1: strictly secret. The bearer of this is a subject of 177 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 1: the German Empire who travels as a Russian under the 178 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,840 Speaker 1: name of Pablo Veberski. He is a German secret agent. 179 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 1: Please furnish him on request protection and assistance. Also advance 180 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: him on demand up to one thousand pesos of Mexican gold, 181 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: and send his code telegrams to this embassy as official 182 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:06,640 Speaker 1: consular dispatches. It was signed von Eckhart. That was Heinrich 183 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: von Eckhart, German foreign minister, who was also the recipient 184 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 1: of the Zimmerman telegram. Vitzka was tried in August of 185 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 1: nineteen eighteen and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted 186 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: to life in prison after the end of the war, 187 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: and he was later pardoned. All of this led to 188 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: increasingly higher border security in Nogalles, which we will talk 189 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: about after a quick sponsor break. Starting in the summer 190 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:43,600 Speaker 1: of nineteen eighteen, authorities, especially American authorities, started putting a 191 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 1: lot heavier restrictions on what could happen at the Ambos 192 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 1: noo Galles border. For example, suddenly there were a lot 193 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:52,200 Speaker 1: of new rules about how much and what kind of 194 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: food people could take from the United States into Mexico. 195 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: In the summer of nineteen eighteen, authorities in the US 196 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:01,959 Speaker 1: threatened to close the border in entirely if authorities in 197 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,959 Speaker 1: Mexico didn't put an end to what was described as 198 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: food running, and the border itself became more controlled. No 199 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 1: longer was it a situation where you could simply cross 200 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,439 Speaker 1: the street or where children could play across the borderline. 201 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:20,679 Speaker 1: Two official crossing points were established when residents on both 202 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:24,080 Speaker 1: sides balked at suddenly having only two places to cross 203 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: when they had previously been completely free to come and go. 204 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 1: No Gallus Sonora Mayor Felix B. Penaloza ordered a barbed 205 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:35,080 Speaker 1: wire fence to be placed along the Mexican side. This 206 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:37,600 Speaker 1: was a gesture of goodwill on the mayor's part. He 207 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:39,839 Speaker 1: framed it as a way to make it easier for 208 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 1: American border agents to do their jobs. He suggested to 209 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: his counterparts in Arizona that they do the same on 210 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 1: their side of the border to contribute to the overall security. 211 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: In August of nineteen eighteen, the US State Department started 212 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: restricting how Mexicans could enter the United States through no galles. 213 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: Mexican laborers with a passport were allowed two entries per 214 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:05,199 Speaker 1: day and that was it. Non workers were allowed only 215 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: one entry per week. People really bristled at this idea, 216 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: especially Mexican workers who had jobs in Arizona and people 217 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: who had families on the other side of the line. 218 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: There was also an immediate economic impact on businessmen in 219 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: Arizona who relied on customers from Sonora and vice versa. 220 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: I mean, when your town had been pretty much an 221 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:29,960 Speaker 1: entire international community where we came and went freely, people 222 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: were economically really connected to each other. Duties collected at 223 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: the customs houses were also a major source of revenue, 224 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:41,000 Speaker 1: particularly in Sonora, and that was greatly affected by the 225 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,680 Speaker 1: reduction in traffic across the border as well. And as 226 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: tensions continued to escalate, Mexicans reported increasing incidents of mistreatment 227 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:53,559 Speaker 1: at the hands of US border officials. It was everything 228 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,080 Speaker 1: from just general rudeness to physically being shoved out of 229 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: border agent's offices. It was enough for Mexican Consul Jose 230 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: Garza Zertucci to write up a report to the Mexican 231 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:11,079 Speaker 1: Secretariat of Foreign Affairs detailing a range of insults and injustices. Then, 232 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: on August twenty seventh, nineteen eighteen, a Mexican carpenter named 233 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,280 Speaker 1: Zepfarino gil Lamdrid was returning home after doing a job 234 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,920 Speaker 1: in Arizona. He was a well known person in Ambos Noogailes, 235 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: and he was carrying a bulky package. He had already 236 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,960 Speaker 1: stepped onto the Mexican side of the border when a 237 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: US customs agent named Arthur Barber told him to turn 238 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 1: around and come back and have that package inspected. Guards 239 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:39,280 Speaker 1: on the Mexican side of the crossing told gil Lamdrid 240 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 1: to ignore Barber. He was already in Mexico and he 241 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 1: did not need to turn around, gil Lamdrid was not 242 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 1: sure what to do. Any froze, and then Private William 243 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 1: Clint from the US thirty fifth Infantry pointed his rifle 244 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: at gil Lamdrid to encourage him to come back to 245 00:14:55,680 --> 00:15:00,120 Speaker 1: the US side and have the package inspected. Somebody, it 246 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: is not clear if it was Clint or someone else, 247 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,760 Speaker 1: fired a shot. Gil Lamadrid dropped to the ground. Apart 248 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: from it being totally reasonable to hit the deck when 249 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 1: you hear a gunshot in your vicinity while somebody had 250 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: been pointing a weapon at you, at least two Mexicans 251 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 1: had also been shot and killed at the border in 252 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: Nogalis while trying to cross over the prior twelve months. 253 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 1: The guards on the Mexican side of the border believed 254 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:28,200 Speaker 1: that gil Lamadrid had been killed. In response, one guard 255 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: named Francisco Gallegos shot at the Americans, hitting Clint in 256 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:36,560 Speaker 1: the face and wounding him. Agent Barber returned fire, killing 257 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 1: both Galagos and another Mexican guard. At that point, Gilamdrad 258 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: got up and ran. There was a Mexican Federal Army 259 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: garrison nearby, but most of the men stationed there were 260 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: away from the area fighting rebels. When this happened, so 261 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: Mexican civilians went home and grabbed their personal rifles and 262 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:57,520 Speaker 1: began trying to defend Nogalles, Sonora from the US Army. 263 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: Most of them took up sniper position in homes and 264 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 1: on roofs. In the words of Captain Roy V. Merlage 265 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: of the tenth Cavalry quote, I told the men to 266 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:09,960 Speaker 1: follow me not far along before we got a lot 267 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: of fire. There was so much it was hard to 268 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,440 Speaker 1: tell where it was coming from. Also, it seemed as 269 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 1: though everybody in Nogalis was shooting from the windows toward 270 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: the border. Became a massive gun battle. It was mainly 271 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: between the US Army troops and Mexican civilian snipers, although 272 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 1: that civilian rifle club that had been established in Nogallas, 273 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: Arizona was also involved. Eventually, the thirty fifth Infantry also 274 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 1: set up and employed a machine gun from a hill 275 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 1: on the Arizona side. Mayor Penelosa was in a meeting 276 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: at Nogalis, Sonora City Hall when all of this started. 277 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: He tied a handkerchief to his cane as an improvised 278 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,400 Speaker 1: white flag, and he went out into the street to 279 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: try to stop the gunfire. He waved his flag and 280 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: he begged the civilians on the Mexican side to stop shooting. 281 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,360 Speaker 1: He was shot from the Arizona side, although it is 282 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: not clear by whom, and he died within the hour. 283 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,800 Speaker 1: The mayor's death made the residence of Nogalis, Sonora even angrier. 284 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,440 Speaker 1: They already felt like they'd been facing months of mistreatment 285 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 1: and abuse from overbearing American border agents, and now they 286 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 1: were being shot at and their mayor was dead. More 287 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,439 Speaker 1: civilians became involved in the fighting, and women on the 288 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 1: Sonora side painted red crosses on sheets and tried to 289 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 1: establish a field hospital. Jose Garzaz Sertucci got in touch 290 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: with the Lieutenant Colonel Frederick J. Herman of the tenth Cavalry, 291 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:37,160 Speaker 1: who was the acting subdistrict commander. Sertucci proposed that both 292 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: sides raise a white flag and mutually agree to stop shooting. 293 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: Herman told Sertucci to go to Hell, saying later quote 294 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:49,760 Speaker 1: American troops don't carry white flags and don't use them. Later, 295 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,480 Speaker 1: Herman would confirm to a Senate committee that he had 296 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 1: told the Mexican consul to go to Hell. It's not 297 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:59,760 Speaker 1: a very diplomatic response to that request, and herman told 298 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:03,160 Speaker 1: their two that if Nogalisnora didn't raise their white flag 299 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 1: in the next ten minutes, that the US Army was 300 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: going to go across the border and burn the whole 301 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: city down. Acting Mayorjesu's Palma, who had assumed that role 302 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:14,760 Speaker 1: after the death of Mayor Panaloza, ordered a white flag 303 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:17,199 Speaker 1: to be raised over the No Galisonora customs house at 304 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:21,600 Speaker 1: about seven forty five PM, although some scattered gunfire continued 305 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: after it was raised. The official report on this from 306 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 1: the Mexican Army listed the Mexican death toll at fifteen, 307 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,679 Speaker 1: twelve of them civilians. The civilians included at least two 308 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:35,360 Speaker 1: children and a woman who was hanging up her wash 309 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,760 Speaker 1: when she was shot. Also killed on the Mexican side 310 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 1: were one soldier and two guards. Reports on the American 311 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:46,639 Speaker 1: side listed seven dead, two officers, three enlisted men, and 312 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: two civilians, but the US authorities estimated that the death 313 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: toll and Sonora was actually much higher than the initial report, 314 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: with more than one hundred people killed and there were 315 00:18:57,359 --> 00:19:01,960 Speaker 1: many injuries on both sides. When the US War Department 316 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:06,119 Speaker 1: heard what happened, they contacted Brigadier General de Rosy cable 317 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 1: at nearby Fort Wachuka to investigate. Mexican President Vinustanio Caranza 318 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:16,359 Speaker 1: ordered the Sonorian governor Plutarco Ellis Caius to investigate as well. 319 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 1: The border was closed for almost twenty four hours, and 320 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 1: civilians in Nogalis, Sonora were ordered to turn in their weapons, 321 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:27,160 Speaker 1: although not all of them did. Kabo and Kayas met 322 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,879 Speaker 1: along with interpreters on August twenty eighth. Unlike the phone 323 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 1: call between Sertucci and Hermann, this seems to have been 324 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:38,879 Speaker 1: an overall positive and productive meeting. Both sides expressed regret 325 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 1: for what had happened the day before and genuinely wanted 326 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,879 Speaker 1: to prevent any further violence. But that night, Private Edward 327 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 1: Stiller was on guard near the thirty fifth Infantry's machine gun. 328 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 1: He and everybody else that was stationed there had been 329 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,120 Speaker 1: ordered not to respond to any shots from the Mexican side, 330 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:00,040 Speaker 1: but when somebody fired a shot from Nogalis, Sonora, the 331 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: soldiers manning the machine gun returned fire. More shots were fired, 332 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:07,320 Speaker 1: and Stiller was hitting the leg and wounded. After he 333 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 1: learned about this incident, Cabol warned Caius that if shots 334 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 1: continued to be fired, from the Mexican side, the army 335 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:15,920 Speaker 1: would have to cross the border to pursue the culprits. 336 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,840 Speaker 1: But the next day, August twenty ninth, Private Stiller left 337 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:22,399 Speaker 1: the hospital, walked back to the hill where the machine 338 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,679 Speaker 1: gun was stationed, and started firing his gun across the 339 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:29,439 Speaker 1: line into Mexico. He hit and wounded a Mexican soldier 340 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:33,200 Speaker 1: who was standing guard, and Kabble had him arrested. During 341 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,640 Speaker 1: the earlier meeting between cabl and Caius, Cobble had asked 342 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: Caius to stop this gun fire that kept sporadically happening 343 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,159 Speaker 1: from the Mexican side. Caius had said that these shots 344 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:45,879 Speaker 1: were being fired by irresponsible civilians and then it was 345 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:48,960 Speaker 1: pretty much out of his control. But after Kabil had 346 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,960 Speaker 1: Stiller arrested, he went back to Caius and said that 347 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:55,200 Speaker 1: he was willing to discipline his soldiers when they broke 348 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 1: the orders not to fire, but that he also needed 349 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,280 Speaker 1: assurances from Kayus that he was taking steps on the 350 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: Sonora side. Cayus agreed to try to apprehend the shooters 351 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: on the Mexican side, and although there were a few 352 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 1: more spray gunshots after this, that was the end of 353 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 1: most of the fighting. We're going to talk about the 354 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,440 Speaker 1: investigations and the aftermath of all of this, but first 355 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:28,400 Speaker 1: we're going to pause for a little sponsor break. After 356 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 1: the Battle of Ambosnogailes, authorities on both sides of the 357 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,400 Speaker 1: border tried to pinpoint and address the issues that had 358 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 1: contributed to the incident in the first place. Kabal conducted 359 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:41,640 Speaker 1: an investigation of the customs procedures on the Arizona side 360 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 1: of the border, and his ultimate conclusion was that the 361 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:48,159 Speaker 1: root cause of this incident was resentment from the ongoing 362 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: mistreatment of Mexicans who were trying to cross the border. 363 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 1: As a result, one US border officer was fired for 364 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:59,200 Speaker 1: improper conduct because of his ongoing mistreatment of Mexicans when 365 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:03,960 Speaker 1: they were trying to The investigation cited quote frequent cases 366 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:09,080 Speaker 1: of insolence and overbearing conduct. Then Lieutenant Colonel Hermann was 367 00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: also demoted and transferred out of Nogalis. Authorities in both 368 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:17,359 Speaker 1: Sonora and Arizona also changed how the border agents, the 369 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:21,080 Speaker 1: guards other servicemen at the border were armed. They started 370 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: carrying side arms and sometimes clubs instead of rifles to 371 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: try to defuse some of the tension. The barbed wire 372 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 1: fence that had been placed along the border leading up 373 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:34,199 Speaker 1: to this was intended to be temporary, and at this 374 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:37,479 Speaker 1: point there were some other temporary fences along the border 375 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,199 Speaker 1: as well. Most of them were put up because of 376 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 1: security fears due to the Mexican Revolution in World War One, 377 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:46,160 Speaker 1: but in a couple of cases it was to try 378 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 1: to keep livestock from crossing the border. But after the 379 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: events of August twenty seventh, nineteen seventeen, Kaba recommended that 380 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: the fence in Nogalas be lengthened and made permanent, and 381 00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: this became the first permanent barrier at the US Mexian border. 382 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: After the end of the war, Senator Albert Fall of 383 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 1: New Mexico called for Congressional hearings into various issues at 384 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: the US Mexico border. A number of businesses and political 385 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,480 Speaker 1: leaders really wanted the United States to intervene in Mexico, 386 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,800 Speaker 1: mostly to try to protect business and financial interests that 387 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,480 Speaker 1: were being affected by the Mexican Revolution. In Fall's case, 388 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: this was interested in an oil company. The hearings were 389 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 1: meant to try to convince President Woodrow Wilson to invade Mexico. 390 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 1: The Battle of Ambos Nogallis was a big part of 391 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: these hearings, and while they didn't entice President Woodrow Wilson 392 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,879 Speaker 1: to invade Mexico, they did influence how Americans understood what 393 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:43,200 Speaker 1: it happened at Nogalas for decades. Fred Herman, now a captain, 394 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: gave testimony at these hearings that was at various points 395 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: dishonest and disingenuous, but which continued to be repeated as 396 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:55,240 Speaker 1: fact for decades. He claimed that in the days leading 397 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,560 Speaker 1: up to the Battle of Ambos Nogallas, he had received 398 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: intelligence reports of strange wealth supplied Mexicans and unfamiliar white 399 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,399 Speaker 1: men in Sonora. He said that he believed, based on 400 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:09,919 Speaker 1: these reports, that Nogalis Sonora had been infiltrated by German 401 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: agents and was preparing an attack. Hermann also claimed that 402 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:16,840 Speaker 1: he had received an anonymous letter from someone claiming he 403 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,199 Speaker 1: was a former major in Pancho Villa's army who had 404 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,760 Speaker 1: grown disillusioned and disgusted with Villa and the brutalities of 405 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:26,919 Speaker 1: his fighting force. The letter claimed that there would be 406 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 1: an attack on Nogallis, Arizona by a Mexican force with 407 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,440 Speaker 1: German support around August twenty fifth, but it doesn't appear 408 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: that there's a copy of that intelligence report or the 409 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,720 Speaker 1: letter anywhere. There was no mention of either of them 410 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:44,400 Speaker 1: in Kabbel's investigation into the incident. And on top of that, 411 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:48,080 Speaker 1: Herman also described what happened on August twenty seventh in 412 00:24:48,119 --> 00:24:51,560 Speaker 1: a way that was variously just not right. He said 413 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,960 Speaker 1: that most of the people who were fighting in Sonora 414 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 1: were soldiers, when most of them were really civilians. He 415 00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:00,000 Speaker 1: also said that the mayor who had been shot literally 416 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: while waving a white flag and had a rifle in 417 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: his hands at the time. When I say that, these 418 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: things are still repeated as fact, like when I was 419 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:13,040 Speaker 1: doing research for this podcast, I had a lot of 420 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:16,359 Speaker 1: them written down as fact in my notes as I 421 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:18,679 Speaker 1: was reading articles about them, And then I was like, 422 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,639 Speaker 1: but whatever happened with that, the whole German thing like that, 423 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: why didn't that ever come up in any of this 424 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 1: resolution part? And it's because it doesn't appear that anybody 425 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: said anything about that until these congressional hearings that were 426 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,640 Speaker 1: way after the fact. So there's suspicion that like none 427 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,600 Speaker 1: of that ever even really happened. In terms of getting 428 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: a letter and these intelligence reports. The fence that was 429 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 1: erected in nineteen eighteen was made of barbed wire. It 430 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: was later replaced with chain link and then with large 431 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:52,399 Speaker 1: pieces of corrugated steel. The current barrier was placed in 432 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,120 Speaker 1: twenty eleven and it cost nearly twelve million dollars. It's 433 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:59,400 Speaker 1: between eighteen and thirty feet tall, that's between five point 434 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:02,240 Speaker 1: five and nine meters, and it's made of steel tubes 435 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:06,360 Speaker 1: reinforced with concrete with four inch or ten centimeter gaps 436 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,960 Speaker 1: in between. This design was meant to allow law enforcement 437 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,199 Speaker 1: and border patrol to see what was happening on the 438 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,679 Speaker 1: other side of the wall, but it also had the 439 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 1: side effect of allowing family members and friends who lived 440 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:19,960 Speaker 1: on opposite sides of the wall to see and talk 441 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,879 Speaker 1: to one another. In addition to places for people to 442 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: cross the border, the wall also has a port for livestock, 443 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,679 Speaker 1: especially on the Sonora side. There's a lot of artwork 444 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 1: along the wall, some of its formerly sanctioned art installations 445 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,239 Speaker 1: and some of its graffiti. A lot of it is 446 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 1: expressing objection to the wall into the policies that led 447 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 1: it to still be there. There is still a lot 448 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:45,720 Speaker 1: of traffic between Sonora and Arizona, although that has waned 449 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:49,239 Speaker 1: as the border has become increasingly militarized, a process that 450 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,560 Speaker 1: started in the nineteen eighties and nineties, but the two 451 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,440 Speaker 1: cities still have a lot of overlap, with many residents 452 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,160 Speaker 1: having friends and family on the other side of the border. 453 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:02,159 Speaker 1: No Gallus, Arizona is much smaller. It's about twenty thousand 454 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:07,240 Speaker 1: people compared to Nogalis Sonora's two hundred and fifty thousand. Interestingly, 455 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:10,560 Speaker 1: both cities have the same surface and groundwater sources, and 456 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,160 Speaker 1: the wastewater for both is treated at the Nogalis International 457 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:18,439 Speaker 1: Wastewater Treatment Plant in Rio Rico, Arizona. The Battle of 458 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,639 Speaker 1: Ambos Noogallas is commemorated more on the Sonora side than 459 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,840 Speaker 1: on the Arizona side, including a ballad that was written 460 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,879 Speaker 1: at the time and is still sung today. There's also 461 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:30,919 Speaker 1: a memorial to the defenders of Nogallis Sonora in the 462 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 1: Mexican customs house there, which lists the names of the 463 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:38,720 Speaker 1: confirmed dead. So the permanent wall through Ambos Nogalles was 464 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 1: erected after a violent cross border conflict, with the intent 465 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 1: that it would prevent something similar in the future, and 466 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:49,200 Speaker 1: officials have increasingly relied on it as a physical barrier 467 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:52,879 Speaker 1: to stop illegal border crossings by everyone from immigrants to 468 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:57,120 Speaker 1: drug and weapons smugglers, but it hasn't really stopped any 469 00:27:57,119 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 1: of that. In spite of having been designed to deter 470 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:04,080 Speaker 1: her climbing, people still climb over it daily, sometimes carrying 471 00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:07,040 Speaker 1: all kinds of contraband. Yeah, every article that you read 472 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:10,080 Speaker 1: about this wall today is like and there are still 473 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: people climbing over it all the time. Also, on October tenth, 474 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:18,800 Speaker 1: twenty twelve, unarmed sixteen year old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez 475 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,320 Speaker 1: was shot ten times in the back four blocks from 476 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 1: his home in Nogalis, Sonora, by US Border Patrol agent 477 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:30,680 Speaker 1: Lonnie Schwartz. Schwartz fired sixteen times from the United States 478 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: into Mexico, and he said that he was acting in 479 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,120 Speaker 1: self defense. Agents were in the middle of pursuing two 480 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: people who were climbing over the fence with bundles of marijuana, 481 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 1: and agents reported that Rodriguez and other people on the 482 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 1: Mexican side were throwing rocks at them to try to 483 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: distract them in their pursuit. There is some security footage 484 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,640 Speaker 1: though that raises doubts about that accusation and Rodriguez's family 485 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:54,360 Speaker 1: has maintained that he was not the type of kid 486 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,880 Speaker 1: to throw rocks at a border patrol officer. Schwartz was 487 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 1: indicted years later, and he was found not guilty of 488 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:04,200 Speaker 1: second degree murder in April of twenty eighteen. The jury 489 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: was not able to reach a verdict and to lesser 490 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:11,160 Speaker 1: manslaughter charges in the case. As a final note, Ambos 491 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,640 Speaker 1: Nogallas is not the only binational community in the immediate 492 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:18,560 Speaker 1: vicinity about sixty miles it's about ninety seven kilometers to 493 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: the west is tahonah o Odom Nation. The tribal headquarters 494 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,600 Speaker 1: is in Cells, Arizona, but about two thousand tribal members 495 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 1: live in Sonora. This has its own complexities, but the 496 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 1: border through the tohonah Oodom Nation has at least for 497 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,880 Speaker 1: the past century, been much more open than the border 498 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: through Ambos Nogals. Obviously, the nation is working to change that, 499 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,480 Speaker 1: the nation being the United States, not the tohono Odem Nation. 500 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining us on this Saturday. Since 501 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 1: this episode is out of the archive, if you heard 502 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 1: an email address or a Facebook URL or something similar 503 00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: over the course of the show, that could be obsolete 504 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:04,080 Speaker 1: now Now our current email address is history podcast at 505 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:08,160 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio dot com. You can find us all over social 506 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:11,760 Speaker 1: media at missed Inhistory, and you can subscribe to our 507 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 1: show on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, and 508 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:21,360 Speaker 1: wherever else you listen to podcasts. Stuff you Missed in 509 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 1: History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts 510 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:29,320 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever 511 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:30,880 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.