Juan García Cortez



''Introduced in: "The Party"

Colonel Juan García Cortez, a retired colonel from an unspecified Central American nation and is an acquaintance of Ken Rosenberg. He helped set up the failed exchange that brought Tommy Vercetti to Vice City, but was not involved in the ambush that resulted in the deal's failure. Tommy meets Cortez in person at an informal party on the Colonel's extravagant yacht.

Tommy continuously asks Cortez when he is getting reimbursed for the money he lost at the setup, but Cortez tells Tommy that he is "not in Liberty anymore", and encourages him to take charge, which Tommy does, although Cortez has set up his own "methods of inquiry" into finding out who ambushed Tommy's deal. Cortez more or less strings Tommy along, using Tommy's debt with the mob to make him work for him. Nevertheless, Cortez is not unappreciative and behaves as such, paying Tommy for his work and thinking of him as a friend. While investigating, Cortez discovers that his lieutenant, Gonzales, is a mole and leaked the information about Tommy's deal to someone. He later suspects that Ricardo Diaz was behind the ambush, a lead that Tommy follows and discovers to be true.

In addition to hosting parties, the Colonel also ties together many areas of criminal activity, including narcotics, firearms, weapons, and stealing military secrets. When the French begin to pursue Colonel Cortez for their stolen "missile technology", he asks Tommy for help one more time to flee Vice City for safer harbor with his yacht. Recognizing that the Colonel is honorable, Tommy obliges and fends off the French authorities alongside Cortez's crew and Cortez himself. Once the boat is free of pursuers, Cortez graciously gives Tommy a luxurious speedboat as a parting gift, and asks him to look after his daughter Mercedes. The two men part on pleasant terms.

Cortez phones again following the game's final mission to wish Tommy well, and to ask about his daughter, whom he heard (to his great concern) was studying law. Tommy tells him that he is mistaken, much to the Colonel's immense relief (he apparently was not aware that she was starring in a pornographic film, produced by Tommy's film studios, instead).

Colonel Cortez hosts A-list parties on his yacht for celebrities and fellow crime figures. He also enjoys dining on endangered species, which he considers a hallmark of fine living. He has managed to survive up to thirty coups in his native country, has been sentenced to death nine times (but always survived and received a promotion), and has diplomatic immunity. Cortez has also expressed his dislike for the French (including the French secret service), claiming that they used to rob poor nations for centuries, but are now accusing Cortez of stealing. Cortez is also a widower.

Juan Cortez was voiced by Robert Davi.