The unofficial nature of John Lind's unofficial mission

John Lind arrived in Mexico as an unofficial ambassador to an unrecognized regime with a letter of introduction from President Woodrow Wilson, addressed “To whom it may Concern”.  Not withstanding, Victoriano Huerta extended every courtesy to Lind, while politely overlooking Lind’s principle objective of inducing him to step down.  Thus, Lind’s official mission was somewhat of a non-starter.   It is more difficult to judge the success of Lind’s unofficial mission of navigating American interests through the rough waters of the Mexican revolution.   

Francisco Madero’s brief championing of American petroleum interests had been marginalized by Huerta in favor the British consortium under Weetman D. Pearson’s “La Aguila” oil company, an embarrassing circumstance that John Lind was sent to reverse.    La Aguila’s interests were deeply entrenched and ferociously defended by Lionel Carden, whose support for Huerta was simply a by-product of his support for Pearson.   

Lionel Carden had been around Mexico for decades, having reported to Queen Victoria on Mexico’s natural resources as far back as 1870.  On the other hand, John Lind read up the Mexico situation on a U.S. battleship on his way to his posting.  On the ground, Lind was a diplomatically out-gunned.  Lind came to believe that there was a massive conspiracy between the Huerta administration and the British to limit the American oil companies to Tampico.    And, basically, there was.

Not withstanding Wall Street participation in “La Aguila”, The Americans, especially Col House’s Texans, bottled up in Tampico, were salivating for more.

“Lord Cowdray’s [Pearson] great unmeasured well, Dos Bocas (two mouths) which in 1909 had exploded and become unmanageable, had startled the oil world.   When it caught fire and burned for weeks, laying waste many square miles of property, the truth about Mexico’s oil was a trade secret no longer.: —The Political Shame Of Mexico

In 1913, Pearson landed a contract to supply the British fleet with over 7,000,000 barrels of oil a year.   On the eve of the Great War, La Agila was to be the primary supplier to the British Navy, then in active conversion from coal to oil.    When John Lind showed up to monkey with the works, Lionel Carden as apoplectic, although his tactical backing for Huerta proved his undoing.