Diego and Armando Mendez



Diego and Armando Mendez are the two biggest Illegal drug dealers in Vice City circa 1984, heads of their own crime organization, The Mendez Cartel when Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories takes place.

Character Details
Diego is the more quiet of the two and only speaks Spanish, while the more charismatic Armando is the one with greater control of the organization. Reni Wassulmaier implies that he/she had relations with Diego. They also own a Domestobot, which was destroyed by Armando when Victor Vance took control of it and destroyed his bonds.

Role in GTA Vice City Stories
In GTA Vice City Stories, Diego and Armando are first mentioned in mission Brawn Of The Dead by Jerry Martinez, telling Vic Vance that the shipment of coke that Vic and his brother Lance had stolen from them belonged to the Mendez Brothers.

Later, Diego and Armando have Vic and Lance brought to them, where they tell them Martinez stole the shipment, and using some pictures of Martinez with the cops and a faked police liscense they prove this to the Mendez's. Vic and Lance keep working for the Mendez brothers until they decide to take over all of the Vance's businesses by dumping them in a burning oil storage and leaving them for dead.

Vic and Lance escape the burning oil storage and seek protection from Ricardo Diaz, who eventually helps them destroy the Mendez brothers' bonds with a domestobot. In revenge for the destruction of their bonds, Armando has Louise Cassidy-Williams, Victor's girlfriend kidnapped, in the process of rescuing Louise, Lance is heavily injured, and Louise is killed by Armando Mendez. A vengenceful Vic then confronts a flame thrower wielding Armando and guns him to death.

Diego, after seeing his brother's corpse, seeks refuge in his compound Downtown. Then Vic Vance, with the help of Ricardo Diaz and Phil Cassidy, steals a Hunter helicopter and uses it to raid the compound. He is eventually shot down, but makes it to the compound and after slaughtering many of Diego's men, confronts Diego in the compound's roof, there they are joined by Jerry Martinez and a mexican stand-off like shootout begins where Diego kills Martinez and Vic kills Diego.

Character Design
Armando seems to be based off of Scarface's Alejandro Sosa as he bears a striking resemblance to him and his personality is similar to Sosa's also. Their names are a play on Argentinian soccer star, Diego Armando Maradona.

Mission Appearences in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

 * The Mugshot Longshot (Bosses)
 * Hostile Takeover (Bosses)
 * Unfriendly Competition (Bosses)
 * High Wire (Bosses)
 * Burning Bridges (Bosses)
 * Light My Pyre (Armando Killed)
 * Last Stand (Diego Killed)

The voice actor for Diego is Ruben Trujillo, while Armando is voiced by Yul Vasquez.