Regional military or political leader, usually with authoritarian overtones.

political leader who rules through a combination of armed might and personalised control.

'leader'. In the early 19th century, the term was used of military leaders, especially in the Independence Wars. Later, political boss a person of influence in the political affairs of a province or even a nation; the term was often applied to dictators.

Caudillo is a Spanish (caudilho in Portuguese) word usually used to designate "a political-military leader at the head of an authoritative power." It is usually translated into English as "leader" or "chief," or, more pejoratively, "dictator" or "strongman." The word itself means "man on horseback," and comes from South American history when this was literally the case, and "caudillo" was the term used to refer to charismatic populist leaders among the people.

Caudillo is a documentary film by Spanish film director Basilio Martín Patino. It follows the military and political career of Francisco Franco and the most important moments of the Spanish Civil War. It uses footage from both sides of the war, music from the period and voice-over testimonies of various people.