The "Wars" were raids targeting Anglo-American civilians whose settlement Cortina opposed near the several leagues of land granted to his wealthy family on both sides of the Rio Grande.

According to Robert Elman, author of Badmen of the West, Cortina was the first "socially motivated border bandit," similar to Catarino Garza and Pancho Villa of later generations.

This irregular cavalry regiment (called the "Tamaulipas") was placed under his command, and as the Mexican–American War began, it participated in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma.

With the end of the war and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848, the Cortina family estates were divided by the new frontier, leaving a vast portion of their lands inside United States territory.

Cortina became an important political boss for the South Texas Democratic Party, and although the new local authorities invalidated many of his land claims, he remained a large rancher.

With the self-appointed purpose of defending the rights of this social group, Cortina gathered, trained, and armed a private army, and on many occasions, he used this force to resist the eviction of Tejanos from their lands.

These have connived with each other, and form, so to speak, a perfidious inquisitorial lodge to persecute and rob us, without any cause, and for no other crime on our part than that of being of Mexican origin, considering us, doubtless, destitute of those gifts which they themselves do not possess.

No longer would Cortina conduct large-scale military incursions within the territory of the United States, albeit accusations of promoting guerrilla actions against the richer Texan landowners in the area were numerous throughout the following years.

The attitude of the Anglo American Texans towards Cortina changed completely with the defeat of the Confederacy and his important role in the defense of the Mexican Government, and after returning to his estates in Matamoros in 1870 he was formally invited on several occasions as guest of honor of the city of Brownsville.

His support to the Union motivated many notable residents of the Rio Grande Valley (including a former mayor of Brownsville) to endorse a petition to the Texas Legislature, asking for a formal pardon for his crimes during the Cortina Troubles.

Cortina supported General Porfirio Díaz, military hero of the French intervention in Mexico and political rival of Benito Juárez and his successor Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.

Repeated accusations against Cortina by wealthy landowners in Texas of conducting cross-border raids against their cattle and properties were eventually heeded by the Lerdo's administration, and used as public justification to detain him.

Many factors contributed to Díaz's decision, the main ones being Cortina's ambition to power within Tamaulipas above anything, and the consequent unreliability and instability of his support, as he had already demonstrated many times in his life.

Díaz had also received a large sum of money, estimated from anywhere between $50,000 to $200,000 from the wealthy South Texas ranchers to finance his seizure of power with the condition that, in turn, he would take care of stopping Cortina's raids on United States territory.

Most important, Díaz was determined to remain in absolute control of the Government (as he did for the subsequent thirty-three years), no matter the means involved, and he systematically removed all traces of opposition that could have challenged his will.

Also, with diplomatic pressure coming from the United States Government, which was concerned about Cortina's ambitions in Cameron County and his behavior in the past, the President decreed the arrest and execution of his former ally.

Gen. José Canales, a longtime enemy of Cortina, was sent to carry out the order and decided to bring him to Mexico City instead, fearing popular reprisals from the people of Tamaulipas.