10 ruthless dictators who are still honored as heroes (With Pictures)

7. Francisco Franco

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Francisco Franco ruled in Spain from 1939 until 1975. When he took power, many republican political figures fled the country due to Franco’s harsh regime. It was only a matter of time until civil war broke out, and with it came a whole lot of repression and harshness. There were many political prisoners who were captured or “disappeared” during the Franco regime. Thousands of the Spanish were killed, and Franco said that he had about 26,000 prisoners under his command. He banned all religions except Catholicism, as well as any language that was not Castilian. Still, many Spaniards consider Franco to be responsible for saving Spain from being a communist nation.