Jorge "Poncho" Ramirez

1987 Mission to the Val Verdian Boarder in Predator

## Character Overview

**Jorge** "**Poncho**" **Ramirez** is a Chicano. He speaks fluent Spanish, for he can translate to his group for Anna when she speaks. Though not as physically imposing as his teammates, he is a competent and intelligent soldier with a sarcastic sense of humour, although his composure begins to crumble as the attacks increase. Poncho is the first to find Hawkins' remains. He is badly wounded when the Predator inadvertently uses one of the traps set by the commandos against them and a tree trunk slams into his waist after the Predator shot it to swing right at him. Poncho is the last victim of the Predator, shot in the neck as Anna and Dutch attempted to carry him to the helicopter. His weapon of choice is a grenade launcher.

## Biography (P)

### Early Life

Jorge Ramirez served in the U.S. Military and in 1980 he was vetted to join Delta Force being under the command of Colonel John "Dutch" Matrix due to his expertise in explosives and heavy ordinance. As part of the unit, they saw operations in Angola, Cambodia, Lebanon and Afghanistan, and ended a terrorist siege at the Sudanese Embassy in Berlin, Germany. He remembers the Afghanistan mission in particular as an incredibly grueling experience.

### 1986 Mission to the Republic of Val Verde

in 1986, Delta Force was sent to Val Verde to help depose the acting military dictator, Arius Pérez. On Matrix's team was Bennett, Lawson, Forrestal, **Mac Cooke**, and Blain. The mission was a success and Arius was removed from office,

### 1987 Mission to Val Verde in Predator

In 1987, Delta Force was sent back to Val Verde on a mission of a top secret nature. Mac and his squad landed on a beach in Conta Mana, Val Verde where Matrix met former commanding officer General Phillips. Phillips requested Matrix and his Delta Force which included: Poncho, Billy Bear, Mac Cooke, Blain, and Hawkins for this mission. Pancho and Billy Bear, who was a mercenary, become friends on the mission. The goal was to rescue a Val Verdian cabinet minister and his aide who had been kidnapped by nearby Guatemalan Guerrillas at the Val Verde border in the Chapada das Mangabeiras low lying mountain range. Matrix was also reacquainted with an old friend Al Dillon. Dillonwas now working for the CIA and wanted to go along with Dutch.

A helicopter transported Dutch and his team into Guatemala and dropped them off in the jungle. The team quickly discovered the wreckage of the helicopter that had been carrying the captured personnel hanging in the jungle canopy; Poncho climbed aboard and found that the pilot and co-pilot had been executed in their seats. After following guerrilla tracks to the rebels' base, they assaulted the camp and killed the guerrillas, although they were too late to save the hostages. They take the one survivor, Anna, and Poncho is the only one on the team who can translate in Spanish with her.

A creature then began stalking and killing the team one by one, and though Poncho attempted to get information on the creature from their rebel prisoner, Anna, she had nothing useful to tell them. Following a disastrous attempt to capture and kill the creature using improvised traps constructed from the materials of the jungle, Poncho was severely wounded when the escaping Predator unintentionally blasted a nearby tree with a plasma discharge, dislodging a huge branch that then swung down and stuck Poncho in the chest, hitting him with enough force to physically fling him off of his feet.

Despite his shattered ribs and severe internal injuries, Poncho insisted that he could make it to the extraction site and Dutch began carrying him away while Mac, Dillon and Billy staged courageous but ultimately futile rearguard actions. Soon after Billy was slaughtered, the creature, who was later identified as the Jungle Hunter Predator ambushed Dutch, Poncho and Anna, killing Poncho with a single shot to the head from its Plasmacaster. It is likely the Predator took Poncho's skull as a trophy.