Pancho Villa

Pancho Villa executed the only successful foreign invasion of the continental United States since the War of 1812 with his 1916 raid on Columbus, New Mexico, then evaded Pershing's 10,000-strong punitive expedition for over 11 months in the Chihuahua desert. This feat of guerrilla warfare—covering 500 miles of rugged terrain—renders him uniquely elusive among revolutionary figures, cheaper than the typical rival in terms of troop casualties (only 50 Villistas versus 500 Americans across the campaign). Villa's contradiction as both bandit and agrarian reformer makes him the most complex and enduringly fascinating leader of the Mexican Revolution, a duality matched by no other revolutionary figure on this list.