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With all the constant beach-side raving and free-flowing drugs from the nearby crops, the island would look like a trendy resort-turned-festival, were it not for the paid henchmen standing around holding assault rifles.
— Rockstar Newswire

Cayo Perico (commonly referred to as just The Island or Paradise) is a private island in the Caribbean, off the coast of Colombia[1], that appears in Grand Theft Auto Online as part of The Cayo Perico Heist update.

Description[]

Cayo Perico is considered one of the most secure private islands in the entire world, and the location of the remote island compound of the world’s most notorious drug dealer, Juan Strickler (also known as El Rubio).[2] It also contains an untold fortune in art, gold and drug money, scattered across the island.

Cayo Perico is not only the nerve center of El Rubio’s drug empire, but also plays host to his other great love: marathon beach dance parties, where everyone from jetsetters and heiresses to legendary music producers gather to rave until the sun comes up.[3]

The island first appeared in the "El Rubio Dossier" teaser released during the Los Santos Summer Special update, which contained views of three locations on the island, including a sprawling clifftop Spanish-style estate, a security tower and a farm.

History[]

Cayo Perico... You wouldn't want to know how was it called before he [Juan Strickler] arrived.
— One of the private security guards.

A Primitive Shelter is situated in the southeastern area, implying an untold prehistory.

Various artifacts around the island give hints to its history, including a cemetery near the airstrip, several collapsed obelisks, one of which forms the center point of a circular graveyard of 13 plots and relics from the Spanish Empire such as conquistador armor.

At some point before 2020, Juan "El Rubio" Strickler, one of the world's biggest narcrotraffickers, acquired the island and made it the center of his criminal empire, and renamed it "Cayo Perico" (which translates to "Cocaine Cay"). He established enormous marijuana farms and cocaine factories on the island and installed an airstrip and two docks to distribute his products. Strickler also established a solar farm on the island to hide his activities using his green advocacy as a front. To generate more income, he opened a beach party on his island to hard partygoers to sneak his products in. On the southernmost part of the island is a mansion where El Rubio hides a collection of gold and other expensive and rare items such as a limited-edition, diamond-encrusted bottle of Sinsimito Tequila, a ruby necklace, several bearer bonds, a large pink diamond, and a diamond-encrusted panther statue sitting on a large sapphire ball. Any guest or criminal who attempted to steal from El Rubio were either shot to death or fed to El Rubio's pet panther, littering the island with corpses. Pavel stated there were successful heists in the past, but those who were behind them did not live long to savor their victory because El Rubio identified them by their weapons, and their bodies were "sent to the panther's cage in very small boxes".

Geography[]

Although the name of the island is "Cayo Perico"—which translates to "Cocaine Cay" in Spanish (or lit. "Parakeet Cay")—Cayo Perico is not a cay in the topographic sense, and is actually a high island telling by its rocky topography and elevation. With the exception of a few beaches, Cayo Perico contains little sand, with most beaches on the island being covered by small rocks.

Cayo Perico’s weather is always set to clear during heist intel or regular visits, therefore having no chance of rain or snow, although there is a very small chance that the weather can be set to a thunderstorm during the Cayo Perico Heist finale.

Wildlife[]

While there are no native fauna seen on land, the wildlife is heard in abundance, including frogs, birds and snakes. A black panther is kept in captivity in El Rubio's compound. A mutilated shark and a stranded whale can be seen, and there are whale skeletons in the water. The "Loch Santos Monster" inhabits the surrounding seas. Schools of tropical fish can also be seen in the water.

Points of Interest[]

The island is littered with many historical artifacts and interesting objects, some of which are relevant to the heist and will be able to be sent to Pavel during intel gathering for The Cayo Perico Heist. Others are just noteworthy for existing.

The surrounding waters are home to many Wrecks as well as a large meteorite in the far northwest.

Skeletons and corpses[]

There are many skeletons and corpses, some in plain view, some hidden.

Name Description
including Pavel's commentary.
Location Image Map
Smuggler. A skeleton holding Cocaine with more bricks scattered around. Small western beach (between West Beach and the Fishing Jetty).
CayoPerico-GTAO-Skeletons-CokeBricksNorthWestBeach
CayoPerico-GTAO-Skeletons-Smuggler-Map
Party goer.
Well, well. A guest at the last party, perhaps. Just think, if we do not pull this off perfectly, we too will be found like this...
— Pavel
Pavel suggests this was a previous beach party guest who didn't follow the rules. This is confirmed in overheard guard dialogue during the heist itself.[4]
Rock promontory just north of West Beach, only visible from clifftop above.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Skeletons-PartyGoer
CayoPerico-GTAO-Skeletons-PartyGuest-Map
Conquistadors A selection of artifacts including Conquistador skeletons in armour. On a small island off the west coast.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Skeletons-Conquistodors-Map
Smuggler A smuggler with Cocaine brick in a sunken Narcosub. Underwater off the southwest edge of the larger of the two islands west of Cayo Perico.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Skeletons-NarcosubSmuggler
Wrecks-GTAO-CayoPerico-Narcosub-Map
Robber Remains of an intruder killed while trying to breach the compound fence. Western end of the compound perimeter wall/fence.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Skeletons-FenceCutter
CayoPerico-GTAO-Skeletons-FenceCutter-Map
Whale A whale skeleton In the sea, off the southeastern coast.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Skeletons-Whale-Map
Whale with alien egg. A whale skeleton with an alien egg. In the sea, off the northeastern coast.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Skeletons-WhaleAndEgg-Map
8[5] wrapped corpses. Two female bodies wrapped up. Off the southwest point close to the shore.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Corpses-SouthwestDuo
CayoPerico-GTAO-Corpses-SouthwestPoint-Map
A wrecked Blista Compact with three more female corpses Near the drainage tunnel entry to El Rubio's Compound.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Corpses-DrainageTunnel-Map
Two more more female corpses Near the drainage tunnel entry to El Rubio's Compound, just east of the three above.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Corpses-SoutheastDuo
One wrapped corpse Just southeast of the above two corpses.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Corpses-SoutheastSingle
Whale
Well, well. You do not see this too often on dry land. It must have become beached
— Pavel
A beached whale corpse.
Next to the fishing jetty on the western part of the island.
CayoPerico-GTAO-Whale
CayoPerico-GTAO-BeachedWhale-Map
Shark The mauled corpse of a shark. Eastern shoreline
CayoPerico-GTAO-Corpses-Shark
CayoPerico-GTAO-Corpses-Shark-Map

Locations and Landmarks[]

Influence[]

The island appears to be based on Norman's Cay (a.k.a. Cayo Norman), a small Bahamian island used by the Medellín Cartel as a transshipment base for smuggling cocaine into the United States and as a private party island, while the estates and welcome sign are based on Hacienda Nápoles, a luxurious estate built and owned by Colombian drug lord and Medellín Cartel leader Pablo Escobar. Cayo Perico's airfield also bears strong resemblance to Norman's Cay Airport, as seen in the map from El Rubio Dossier teaser. The party and the musical guests are also likely an allusion to the infamous Fyre Festival, a fraudulent attempt to host a luxury music festival in Norman's Cay that ended in utter disaster.

The shape of the island appears to be based on Canouan, a small island belonging to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, mirrored and rotated.

Perico is also a slang for "cocaine" in Mexico and Colombia, referencing the fact that the island has a cocaine farm.

Events of Grand Theft Auto Online[]

The Cayo Perico Heist[]

Cayo Perico is first visited in late 2020 when the GTA Online Protagonist accompanies English Dave to a party hosted by Juan Strickler under the guise of a management member. The player then sneaks off to scope out the island, by hacking into a communication tower to gain access to Strickler's compound's CCTV in order to find out where Martin Madrazo's files are being kept. Afterwards, Pavel directs the player to scope out the North Dock and some secondary targets, before instructing them to continue scoping for infiltration, escape points, point of interests or return to Los Santos to prepare for the heist. Once all preparation works are done, the crew executes the heist, recover Madrazo's files and escapes.

Pavel later informs the player that they can return to Cayo Perico to pull off more heists once Strickler stocks up on more cash, gold, and other equipment to be robbed. The party was over, so the player must pose as smugglers in order to access the island again.

At any point during the heist setup, players can return to Cayo Perico to scope out additional information.

After completing the heist as host, players can return to Cayo Perico and attend the party in free roam. It's not possible to explore the island while the party's going on.

The Contract[]

Hey, do you know some crazy ass Russian dude? Some guy got passed through my office talking about some caviars and submarines and shit. Said he knew you, something about wanting to take another trip to the Caribbean.
Franklin Clinton to the GTA Online Protagonist about Pavel's visit.

While the island does not make any appearance in The Contract update, it's mentioned that Pavel has visited Franklin Clinton's Agency (offscreen) in 2021, looking for the GTA Online Protagonist, and asking when the protagonist is going to take "another trip to the Caribbean", confirming they are still occasionally robbing El Rubio's Compound to this date. Franklin may also ask if the GTA Online Protagonist has ever been in the Caribbean, possibly referring to Keinemusik Beach Party.

One of the party guests makes an appearance inside Record A Studios after the mission Studio Time. If the player visits Record A Studios after that mission and bumps into her, she'll recognize them as the person from "that island thing a while ago", referring to the Keinemusik Beach Party during the first playthrough of The Cayo Perico Heist.

The Criminal Enterprises[]

In 2022, as part of The Criminal Enterprises update, a Metal Detector can be found during a Random Event in Los Santos, next to a skeleton carrying a Cayo Perico treasure map. The Metal Detector can be used to locate daily Buried Stashes on Cayo Perico while re-scoping the heist.

The update also introduced the Cayo Perico Series, a series of races set in the island of Cayo Perico to be played by 1 to 8 players. The races are not related to the game's narrative whatsoever and are at present the only non-glitch way for a player to operate personal vehicles (at least those eligible for races) on or around Cayo Perico.

San Andreas Mercenaries[]

Cayo Perico, Juan Strickler and the heist are mentioned multiple times in the San Andreas Mercenaries update by returning heist crew members Charlie Reed, Rooster McCraw and Pernell Moss. Pernell says he's still spending his cut from the protagonist's previous heist, while Rooster suggests the protagonist keep robbing Strickler's compound.

The update also introduced the Assault on Cayo Perico adversary mode.

Mission Appearances[]

Grand Theft Auto Online[]

The Cayo Perico Heist[]

The Criminal Enterprises[]

Races[]

San Andreas Mercenaries[]

Adversary Modes[]
  • Assault on Cayo Perico

Gallery[]

Pre-release
Newswire release
In game
Map


Trivia[]

  • The island shares some programming traits with other outside locations in prior games: Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and North Yankton/Ludendorff in Grand Theft Auto V.
    • The island can only be visited in missions or by a scripted/restricted trip to the dance parties.
    • There are no radio stations available when traveling by vehicle on the island; however, they can be accessed during races.
    • Just like Lundendorff, Cayo Perico is located in the same game world as the main map and is only loaded when needed. The Cayo Perico map is located south-east off the coast of Terminal.
  • Most of the island’s flora are reused assets from Guarma in Red Dead Redemption 2.
  • Vehicles on the island all have San Andreas license plates, unlike the Ludendorff-dedicated snowy models/variants which had a dedicated North Yankton plate applied.
  • With the exception of a Speedo parked outside the compound, some Wrecks, and rarely spawning Verus ATVs, El Rubio and his cartel seem to avoid the use of modern land vehicles on the island, including Juan’s personal Stafford and Brioso 300.
  • The horn and lights on vehicles do not function when the player scopes the island, but they function during the heist finale.
  • If the player takes a photo with the Snapmatic app, the photo's location name is displayed as being "San Andreas" instead of Cayo Perico. This is most likely due to the fact that the game is scripted to display the Pacific Ocean or San Andreas name if the player is too far from the map.
  • The island is only mentioned by name by the guards in only one dialogue. This may mean that Cayo Perico's name came at the end of the development of the DLC. Most dialogues refer it as "The Island" and "Paradise".
  • In the Kosatka/Pavel introduction cutscene, the coordinates for Cayo Perico are shown on the Heist Planning Table as 55.9533° N, 3.1883° W. When entered into Google Earth however, it's revealed that these are actually the coordinates for Edinburgh, Scotland where Rockstar North is headquartered. Their offices at Barclay House as of 2021 are several streets over to the southeast of the direct coordinate point.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1
    Strickler's got this private island off the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Grows a bunch of coke and weed down there... has got himself some big compound. Lots of guards, hi-tech security, the whole works.
    Miguel Madrazo during The Music Locker Intro.
  2. "The Cayo Perico Heist: Coming December 15 to GTA Online" – Rockstar Newswire
  3. "Watch the New Trailer for The Cayo Perico Heist" – Rockstar Newswire
  4. Guard 1: “I swear, man, it crashed right over there.”
    Guard 2: “So what, he like, took the controls?”
    Guard 1: “Yeah, man. Out of his fucking mind.”
    Guard 2: “The American?”
    Guard 1: “They're all American. The party guy, you know?”
    Guard 2: “Oh yeah, that asshole.”
    Guard 2: “So what did you do?”
    Guard 1: “Me? Nothing. Camilo took him behind a rock.”
    Guard 2: “What... at the party?”
    Guard 1: “Yeah.”
    Guard 2: “Shit...”
    Two guards overheard during the heist finale.

  5. Game files:Prop positions <archetypeName>Prop_water_corpse_02</archetypeName> <position x="5076.25200000" y="-5804.79800000" z="-10.37372000"/> <archetypeName>Prop_water_corpse_01</archetypeName> <position x="5068.41600000" y="-5792.25300000" z="-6.57220500"/> <archetypeName>Prop_water_corpse_02</archetypeName> <position x="5066.49200000" y="-5795.96100000" z="-7.35724800"/> <archetypeName>Prop_water_corpse_01</archetypeName> <position x="4825.38000000" y="-6044.04600000" z="-5.20295800"/> <archetypeName>Prop_water_corpse_01</archetypeName> <position x="5048.69700000" y="-5830.24300000" z="-15.32573000"/> <archetypeName>Prop_water_corpse_01</archetypeName> <position x="4824.34000000" y="-6045.57500000" z="-5.36462900"/> <archetypeName>Prop_water_corpse_01</archetypeName> <position x="5044.38700000" y="-5827.08900000" z="-15.33052000"/> <archetypeName>Prop_water_corpse_01</archetypeName> <position x="5052.92900000" y="-5826.10400000" z="-15.02450000"/>

Navigation[]

Navigation
[ ve ]Grand Theft Auto Online
LocationsState of San Andreas (Los Santos County (Los Santos) | Blaine County) | Cayo Perico
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InformationAwards | Achievements and Trophies | Reputation (RP) (LS Car Meet | Arena Points) | Ranks | Skills | Trailers | Screenshots | Artworks
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[ ve ]Neighborhoods, districts and areas in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online
Los Santos County
Los Santos
DowntownPillbox Hill | Mission Row | Textile City | Legion Square
VinewoodDowntown Vinewood | East Vinewood (Mirror Park | Mirror Park Railyard | Vinewood Racetrack) | West Vinewood | Alta | Hawick
South Los SantosDavisI.C. | Strawberry | Chamberlain Hills | Rancho
Port of South Los SantosBanning | Elysian Island | Terminal
East Los SantosLa Mesa | Cypress Flats | El Burro Heights | Murrieta Heights
VespucciVespucci Beach | Vespucci Canals | Puerto Del Sol
Backlot City / Richards Majestic | Del PerroI.C. (Del Perro Beach) | La Puerta (Maze Bank Arena) | Little Seoul | Los Santos International Airport | Morningwood | Pacific Bluffs (Kortz Center) | Richman (GWC and Golfing Society) | Rockford HillsI.C. (Burton)
Vinewood Hills (Galileo Observatory | Galileo Park | Lake Vinewood | Lake Vinewood Estates | Richman Glen | Sisyphus Theater | Vinewood Bowl) | Banham Canyon | Banham Canyon Drive* | Chumash | Tongva Hills (Marlowe Vineyards) | Tongva Valley | Great Chaparral (Baytree Canyon) | Tataviam Mountains (Land Act Dam* | Land Act Reservoir) | Palomino Highlands (N.O.O.S.E)
Grand Senora DesertBolingbroke Penitentiary | Redwood Lights Track
San Chianski Mountain RangeRON Alternates Wind Farm | Palmer-Taylor Power Station
Blaine County
Grand Senora DesertSenora National Park | Thomson Scrapyard
San Chianski Mountain RangeHumane Labs and Research | Davis Quartz
Paleto Bay (North Point | Procopio Beach) | Paleto Forest | Paleto Cove | Dignity Village | Harmony | Sandy Shores | Mount Josiah (Zancudo River | Stab City) | Lago Zancudo | Fort Zancudo | North Chumash | Raton Canyon (Cassidy Creek | Calafia Bridge*) | Chiliad Mountain State Wilderness (Altruist Camp) | Cape Catfish | Alamo Sea | Grapeseed | Mount Gordo (El Gordo Lighthouse | Heart Attacks Beach) | Braddock Pass | Mount Chiliad (Galilee | Launch Facility)
North Yankton
LudendorffBobcat Security Depot | Ludendorff Church and Cemetery
Cayo Perico
Entry PointsEl Rubio's Compound
Infiltration PointsAirstrip | West Beach | Main Dock | North Dock | North Drop Zone | South Drop Zone | Drainage Tunnel
Escape PointsAirstrip | Main Dock | North Dock
Other LocationsCrop Fields | Control Tower | Lighthouse | Communications Tower | Solar Farm | Graveyard | Fishing Jetty | Campsite | Power Station | Primitive Shelter | Ritual Hut | Torture Cage
GTA V exclusive locations | GTA Online exclusive locations
* denotes roads that are also marked as neighborhoods in the HUD.
† denotes neighborhoods in which their names are not displayed on the HUD, but are mentioned on the official map.
I.C. denotes incorporated cities in the County of Los Santos.
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