When the province was invaded by Lamadrid, after the Federal defeat in the Battle of Oncativo he was taken prisoner by Lieutenant Colonel Melián.
In late 1830 Brizuela joined the fight to recover La Rioja for his party, and occupied the provincial capital.
Soon after the news came of the victory of Quiroga in the Battle of Rodeo de Chacon, which gave him control of Cuyo.
The Unitarian officers who arrived from Chile such as Colonel Juan Esteban Pedernera, sent to be his chief of staff, and those who come later with Lavalle, despised him for being an alcoholic and leader of irregular montoneras units.
La Rioja was invaded without difficulty by Nazario Benavídez and José Félix Aldao with 1,500 men,[1] threatening Brizuela and Lavalle.