the Nationalists occupied Jaén, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Albacete and Sagunto. 50,000 Republican refugees gathered at the harbours of Valencia, Alicante, Cartagena and Gandia but without the Republican Navy, an evacuation was impossible since the French and the British governments refused to organise an evacuation. Only a minority, those who had money to pay for passage, were evacuated by British ships (between 650 and more than 3,500), Casado among them. On 30 March, the Nationalists occupied Valencia and Gambara's troops entered Alicante, rounding up 15,000 Republican refugees. Italian General Gambara was prepared to permit the evacuation of political refugees, but on 31 March, the Nationalist troops arrived and took over jurisdiction from Gambara. As a result, many refugees committed suicide to avoid capture by the Nationalists. On 31 March, the Nationalists occupied Almeria, Murcia and Cartagena, controlling all Spanish territory except for an area of the port of Alicante, where thousands of Republicans expecting evacuation had assembled. They began giving themselves up on 31 March, but the operation was suspended for the night. The last 2000 surrendered the next morning, and approximately 25 committed suicide. By 1 April 1939, the war was effectively over. Aftermath On 1 April 1939, the day the war ended, the Soviet Union was the only major power that had not yet recognized Franco's government. The new regime had signed a non-aggression pact with Portugal and a treaty of friendship with Nazi Germany on 31 March, and on 6 April, Franco made public Spain's adherence to the Anti-Comintern Pact. On 20 April, the Non-Intervention Committee was dissolved, and by June, both Italian and German troops had left Spain. The Francoist dictatorship remained in power until Franco's death on 20 November 1975. Casado remained in exile in Venezuela until he returned to Spain in 1961. Cipriano Mera fled to Oran and Casablanca, but he was extradited to Spain in February 1942. In 1943, he was condemned to death, a sentence that was changed for 30 years in prison; he was set free in 1946 and fled to France, where he died in 1975. Matallana was detained and imprisoned by the Nationalists and died in Madrid in 1956. Besteiro, still at his post in the basement of the Revenue Building at 7 Alcalá Street in Madrid, was arrested by the Nationalists when they entered the city and faced a court martial. Sentenced to 30 years in prison, he died