Raul Menendez

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"Come my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world."

— Raul Menendez quoting the poem Ulysses.

Raul Menendez was a Nicaraguan political activist and the primary antagonist of the Call of Duty: Black Ops II campaign. He is the leader of a rebel organization named Cordis Die and is an old nemesis of Alex Mason and Frank Woods. He hijacked several hundred of the U.S.'s own automated military drones and after using them to attack its domestic major cities, as well as cities throughout China such as Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, he destroyed them thus crippling the United States' defense, leaving the American military vulnerable in an attempt to ignite a worldwide uprising. He has a large scar, and burn mark on his right eye.

Raul is apparently extremely charismatic and influential to a number of people; according to trailers, he is nicknamed "The Messiah of the 99%" and has a subscriber count on his Cordis Die YouTube channel in the millions and views in the hundreds of millions. According to Harper, "He's the most dangerous terrorist since Osama bin Laden." According to Briggs, "People in America... idolize him", despite being the one responsible for the blood spilled on U.S. Soil.

Biography

Early life

Raul Menendez was born in Nicaragua on September 5, 1962. According to JSOC Operative Salazar, Menendez spent the first part of his childhood during his country's tumultuous years in the Nicaraguan Revolution. Seeing first hand the horrors the American-backed Contras conducted on his fellow countrymen would sow the seeds for his hatred of the west. After the colossal 1972 earthquake of Nicaragua, Menendez's family lost most of all they had, including their home. A year after the quake, his only sister Josefina was horribly disfigured and crippled from a warehouse fire the two were seeking shelter in. Raul first believed that Josefina was dead and tried to kill himself by slitting his throat with her pendant until she woke and begged him not to. The warehouse was burned down by its American owner for $11,000 in insurance money. This tragedy would further embitter Menendez towards the United States and its capitalist culture.

The Menendez Cartel

When Menendez entered into his teenage years both he and his father, Jose Luiz Menendez, started over by selling drugs for easy money. As time passed they became rich and powerful 'legends of Managua'. Their height of power was so great that the Menendez Cartel had an almost god-like status in the criminal underworld. This was of great concern to the United States to the extent that the CIA was sent in to eliminate Menendez's father in a U.S. sanctioned assassination, an assassination a young Raul observed and escaped in a pick up truck in the events of Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified.

Angola/Encounter with Alex Mason

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Mason shooting Menendez in the face.

Fueled by his anger for the U.S., in 1986 Menendez began to run guns into Afghanistan for his own private army. On July 2, 1986, Menendez was in Angola supplying the Soviet, Cuban, and Nicaraguan backed Communist government the MPLA with arms. It was also the same time in which Alex Mason and Jason Hudson were in Angola to rescue one of Menendez’s victims, the recently captured Frank Woods. Alex Mason ran into Menendez after breaking into his hut, while the gun runner was relaying propaganda on his radio. As his men entered the hut, Menendez wrestled with Mason after pulling a grenade. Mason overpowered Menendez and shot him in the right side of his face, destroying his eye and leaving him permanently disfigured. Mason then escaped the hut as the grenade exploded. This drew the attention of the CIA who sent in Alex Mason, Frank Woods, and Jason Hudson to investigate. Unbeknownst to the trio, the leader of the Mujahideen in which they considered their ally, Mullah Rahmaan, was one of many in which secretly worked for Menendez. It was this same time in which Menendez also dealt with Lev Kravchenko, who sold the arms dealer Soviet weapons and arms in exchange for money. Sending the arms into third world countries such as Cuba and Angola, Menendez began to fund and arm many anti-Western rebellions and revolutions in the hope to bring down corrupt capitalist nations. 

Josefina's death

The CIA, in conjunction with the Panamanian Defense Forces, conducted a raid on Menendez’s compound in Nicaragua. Menendez was ambushed in his room but broke free once he saw a guard hurting his sister. However he was sedated and awoke outside the city. When Manuel Noriega freed him, Menendez attacked him and ran through the compound to find Josefina. When Raul reached his sister's room, Frank Woods throws a hand grenade into Menendez’s sister’s room, killing her and presumably Menendez himself.

Revenge/Death of Mason and Hudson

Menendez tormenting Woods about Mason and Hudson's death

However, unknown to the U.S. or the CIA, the corrupt Noriega made a deal with Menendez offering him sanctuary in Panama. Before the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989 (Operation Just Cause), with the help of his moles within the CIA, kidnapped the young David Mason and brought him to Panama just ahead of the the elder Mason’s mission to capture Noriega. Around this same time Menendez’s men kidnap Jason Hudson and forced him to relay information to Frank Woods to kill what was believed to be Menendez. After taking the shot, the man shot was not Menendez but instead Alex Mason. To further punish the now grief-strickened Woods, Menendez kills Hudson and shoots out both of his knees crippling him for life. Still not content with his revenge, Menendez allows Woods and the young David to live and vows that in due time he will return to finalize his revenge. However if the player chooses to shoots Mason in the leg, he will turn up alive years later after Menenedez death or captured (player-determined)

Cordis Die/Wanted Terrorist

During the course of the next thirty years Menendez hides in the shadows working to gather the men and resources needed to begin his world revolution. To generate funds for his private army, Menendez used the wealth he made in drug trafficking and invested heavily in various weapons technology, including Tacitus Corporation. On June 22, 2014, Menendez began his campaign by creating Cordis Die, a social networking group drawing in billions of followers to his cause of ending the "corrupt capitalist 1% nations", using the alias Odysseus. With his followers unaware that their leader was a narco-terrorist, the members of Cordis Die organized into armed insurgent groups such as the Mercs and the Militia. By 2025 Cordis Die has just over two billion followers who see Menendnez as their idol, YouTube, Twitter and various other sites have very large subscriber counts. Despite the large support, Menendnez is seen as a threat to the US government who brand him the most dangerous terrorist since Osama bin-Laden and have him under constant surveillance.

Celerium

As part of Menendez's plan he hires Chloe Lynch to develop a new Earth element called "Celerium" which has more processing power than the entire US military infrastructure. The plan is to use it to hack into the drones controlled by the USA and China and to turn them against their respective cites. To process it into a smaller form Menendnez hires Erik Breighner. Once developed, Menendnez stores the chip in a fake eye ball where his right eye used to be.

Cyber Attack

As part of Menendez plan to wipe out both America and China, he uses the Celerium worm to hack the Chinese Stock Market and send it into depression. The blame however is pinned on the United States Government. Though some people like Woods would know better than to believe this.

Pakistan

Menendez and his second in command DeFalco visit Pakistan to gain the support of the ISI Leader and Tian Zhao. David "Section" Mason, Mike Harper, Javier Salazar and Crosby are sent in to spy on him. However this is also part of Menendez plan and clamined to have engineered the infiltration. Menendez meets with DeFalco about Chloe and assigns DeFalco to find and capture her. After doing so Menendez blows the American's cover but they are able to escape. Depending on the players actions DeFalco can be killed while apprehending Chloe or she can be captured and rescued in the mission "Second Chance" in which DeFalco will survive to be with Menendez once more.

Betrayal and capture

Menendez holds a meeting with his followers with Farid at his side. Farid however, unknown to Menendez at this point is a spy for the CIA, though Menendez is suspicious at this point. Menendez, Farid and DeFalco (if not killed at this point) stand assembled with their followers just in time for the American attack. Menendez and Farid split up and regroup at the citadel. Though Farid begs Menendez to retreat he instead shoots down Harper's VTOL and takes his prisoner. Though Harper refuses to state the name of the traitor, Menendez hands a gun to Farid and orders him to kill Harper:

• Outcome 1
• Outcome 2

If the player decides to follow Menendez's orders and shoots Harper then he will die and Farid's cover will remain safe. This will ensure Chloe's survival later in the game and subsequent defeat of Menendez's cyber attack.

If the player decides to shoot Menendez instead then he will stop him and shoots Farid in the chest before shooting him in the head and killing him. This will doom Chloe to her demise and ultimately Woods (if Menendez is captured), however Harper will survive.

Whatever the outcome of the player's choice, Menendez will then be captured in his downed VTOL by David Mason and Salazar. Menendez then thanks David and asks him to help seek a newer world.

U.S.S. Obama/Cyber attack begins

After being taken prisoner, Raul is taken to the U.S.S. Obama where he is interrogated. First by Salazar and then by David. However an attack from Cordis Die allows him to escape. Later Menendez (with or without DeFalco) will head to the bridge as Admiral Briggs was rebooting the system. Menendez takes Briggs hostage while Salazar shows his true colors, betrays him own men and joins Raul's side. This may or may not result in DeFalco and Chloe's deaths (this is player determined). Menendez will then have Briggs at gun point but Salazar requests that he not kill him but shoots him in the leg. The player can either choose to kill Briggs or wound him. Menendez then takes out his fake eye ball and uploads his virus which allows him to take control of the system. Menendez then makes his escape by means of a jet.

• Outcome 1
• Outcome 2

If the player decides to shoot Briggs in the leg, and has completed the strike force missions and killed Tian Zhao, then Briggs will live to re-activate the Obamas defenses until the Chinese show up and save the Obama.

If the player decides to kill Briggs, or hasn't completed the strike force missions or Didn't kill Zhao then the Obama will be destroyed.

Haiti/Final stand

As a series of cyber attacks around the world takes place, Menendez will take refuge in his hidden base in Haiti to control the drones. The United States government (with or without support of the Chinese) will launch an attack on the base. Just before then reach him however, Menendez kills a Marine and puts on his uniform and kit. It will then be discovered that Menendez isn't controlling the drones from the base. Menendez then broadcasts a message to the world and shows various cites about to be attacked before he self-destructs the drones before revealing Cordis Die's true plan: cripple America's drones and leave its military vulnerable so the two billion followers of Cordis Die can rise up and attack the government. However as Menendez tries to make his escape, David will slide down to him, stab his left leg and right shoulder before a wounded Menendez tells David to make him a martyr for Cordis Die.

• Outcome 1
• Outcome 2

If the player spares Menendnez then he will be taken outside and put into US custody with Raul telling David to be ready for his escape one year from now. If Harper is alive at this point then he will say that he would have just shot him.

If the player shoots Menendez then he will die. If Harper is still alive then he will express concern that David was going to let him live. Additionally, a YouTube video will appear revealing Menendez' death, angering Cordis Die's followers, resulting in the White House being burned down.

Effect on the Ending

Menendez, being the catalyst for most of the events in game, obviously has a large impact on the ending. Primarily, the player has the greatest choice when choosing to execute Menendez or capture him after David Mason stabs him in the right leg and shoulder with a knife. The decision to save Alex Mason (David's father) will also impact how the game ends. He will taunt David to kill him by saying "Martyr me.... for Cordis Die".

• Choice 1
• Choice 2
• Choice 3

Chloe survives, Menendez survives
If Chloe is alive when Menendez is captured then she will find Menendez escape plan by means of a celerium worm and disable it, foiling Menendnez escape plan. A year after she will appear on a talk show where an enraged Menendez watching will bash his head against the T.V. multiple times before just laughing it off.

Menendez dies
If Menendez is simply shot by David then a video triggered to play upon his death will activate and cause mass anger among the Cordis Die followers.

Chloe dies, Menendez survives
If Chloe is dead when Menendez is captured then Raul will make good on his word and escape prison one year after his capture and head to Woods house. Once there he stabs Woods in the neck with his sisters pendent (just like he killed Hudson 37 years prior) and lay his body on the bed. Menendez will then head to his sisters graveyard site where he will dig up her remains before lighting himself on fire and killing himself.

Gallery

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A magazine referring Raul Menendez.

Raul Menendez with his actor Kamar de los Reyes. Note that Menendez's facial hair has been shaved considerably compared to his usual appearance.

Raul with his sister in 1973.

Young Raul, holding his crippled and burned sister.

Young Raul, executing an unknown man in his home country Nicaragua.

Menendez addressing his followers in Yemen.

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Menendez in 1986 before losing his eye.

Menendez in 1986 at his mansion.

Menendez in 1989 with young David Mason, after executing Jason Hudson.

Raul Menendez at a rally.

Menendez fave

Menendez in a YouTube video on Cordis Die's Twitter account (his face is censored)

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Raul Menendez visiting Frank Woods in 2025.

Menendez, about to torch himself in Josefina's grave, 2026.

Menendez, after smashing his head against a TV screen.

Menendez in the ending where he kills Woods.

Menendez, about to escape from his prison.

Raul on the guitar.

Render Model.

Trivia

• Menendez in his youth bears a striking resemblance to David Mason in his youth - right down to the hairstyle, polo-styled striped shirt, and facial features.
• Menendez appears alongside Frank Woods in the music video for the song Carry On by Avenged Sevenfold.
  • Also, Menendez's shirt on the back shows the dates and locations of concerts, which reference the locations and dates of Future Missions. 
• Raul Menendez is the third playable antagonist in the Call of Duty series, the first being Edward Richtofen and the second being Fidel Castro, although Menendez is the only playable antagonist in any Call of Duty campaign. Unlike the first two, Menendez is not playable in Zombies mode.
• Menendez plays very differently from a normal Call of Duty player character. He moves noticeably faster than normal, and can reload his SPAS-12 shotgun nearly instantly. Most noteably, he can take an extremely high amount of damage (at least as much as a player-controlled Juggernaut), and his health regenerates much faster than normal.
• Raul Menendez is the first main antagonist in the Call of Duty series that can be chosen to be killed or to be spared.
• He has a habit of killing people by first shooting at his victim's knees and then slitting the throat with his sister's pendant. He does this first to an unknown man in the opening cutscene of "Old Wounds", then to Hudson in "Suffer with Me", and then Woods when he disabled his knees in "Suffer with Me", decades ago and finally slits Woods throat in one of the endings. DeFalco even follows this, as shown in the opening cutscene of "Fallen Angel."
• Menendez is multilingual, as he speaks Spanish, Russian and English.
• Menendez was ranked #1 on GameInformer's list of top 10 villain's of 2012.
• Kamar de los Reyes was awarded "Performance of the Year (Male)" by Ben of TheGamerDrive, for his performance as Menendez in the game. [1]
• Ironically Cordis Die has an agenda against the rich but Raul is rich himself.
  • However, Cordis Die most likely holds Menendez in a high regard because he initially grew up very poor and later became rich on his own merits.
• Menendez is the third character in the Call of Duty series to commit suicide, the first being Victor Zakhaev and the second being an unknown man in a Der Riese radio message, although Menendez' death depends on the player's actions in the story.
• Menendez is the only playable character in Black Ops II to be playable in a mission of both 1980's and 2025.
• Menendez is the second character to have a missing eye the first being Grigori Weaver. Though unlike Weaver, Menendez does not use an eye patch.
• Menendez's favorite weapon in 2025 is the Executioner revolver; in the 1980's, his favorite weapon appears to be the SPAS-12, as he stole Noriega's in "Time and Fate" and had his own in "Suffer With Me". Due to this, it is possible he may have a fondness for shotguns.
• If Menendez survives and Chloe Lynch is killed or captived, after he kills Woods, and are at his sisters grave, his hair has grown back out, which means that it passed a significant amount of time.
• Menendez only appears as a friendly NPC in Achilles Veil.
• When Menendez is about to kill Woods (Player-determined), he appears to have his right eye back, however it's more likely a fake one.
• If Menendez is killed in Judgment Day, his tongue will roll out.
• If Menendez is spared, he is the first major antagonist to survive the game he is introduced in.
  • Lev Kravchenko and Vladimir Makarov could count as well, but they just secondary antagonists in their respective intorduction games.
• In Pyrrhic Victory, Menendez uses a SOG Knife, which is strange, since he wasn't a part of SOG.