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"Major, you'd better take a look at this."
"Did you find Hawkins?"
"I... I can't tell."
Poncho and Dutch (from Predator)

Jorge Ramirez,[1] better known as "Poncho", was a mercenary and a member of Major "Dutch" Schaefer's private military team. In 1987, Schaefer's team was hired by the U.S. military and the CIA for a rescue mission in Guatemala. After discovering that their mission was a set-up to dupe them into eliminating the rebels in the area, Schaefer's squad came into contact with a Predator that stalked and killed the elite mercenaries one-by-one.

Poncho was an explosives expert who specialized in heavy ordnance. He was the last person to be killed by the Predator in Guatemala.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Poncho was born and raised in Houston, Texas.[1] In 1980, he joined the private military team set up by Dutch.[4] Upon joining the unit, Poncho became close friends with Billy Sole.[5] As part of Dutch's team, Poncho saw action in Angola, Cambodia, Lebanon and Afghanistan,[6] and recently ended a terrorist siege at the Sudanese Embassy in Berlin, Germany.[7] He remembers the Afghanistan mission in particular as an incredibly grueling experience.[3]

Mission to Guatemala[]

After being dropped into the jungle by Redbird Two Two, 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. Afterwards, the Jungle Hunter 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.

Injury and death[]

"He's busted up pretty bad, Major."
"I can make it! I can make it!"
Billy and Poncho, to Dutch (from Predator)

Following a disastrous attempt to capture and kill the Jungle Hunter using improvised traps constructed from the materials of the jungle, Poncho was severely wounded when the escaping Predator unintentionally blasted a nearby tree with its Plasmacaster, 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.

Poncho's death

Poncho is hit by a Plasmacaster bolt.

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 Predator ambushed Dutch, Poncho and Anna, killing Poncho with a single shot to the head from its Plasmacaster. It is likely the Yautja took Poncho's corpse to be skinned.

Personality and Traits[]

"Strap this on your sore ass, Blain!"
Poncho, to Blain, referring to his grenade launcher (from Predator)

Poncho harbored religious beliefs not shared by the other team members.[8] Personality-wise, he was a sarcastic, wise-cracking Chicano who spoke fluent Spanish as well as English. While lacking the imposing physiques of many of the other members of Dutch's team, Poncho was nonetheless a courageous soldier, bolstered by a grim determination and steadfast composure. However, once the team began falling prey to the Predator he became notably spooked, particularly when the typically dauntless Billy expressed his fear at what they faced. Ultimately though, Poncho was able to maintain his cool and do his job.

Equipment[]

Poncho fires GL

Poncho firing his grenade launcher.

Poncho was equipped with a Heckler & Koch HK94A3 as his primary weapon, although he could more often be seen using an AN/M5 Pyrotechnic Discharger 37mm rotary grenade launcher. He also carried an IMI Desert Eagle Mark I pistol in a hip holster, although he never had a chance to use the weapon, and several M18A1 Claymores.

Trivia[]

  • Poncho actor Richard Chaves fought in the Vietnam War before becoming an actor.[9]
  • Poncho's grenade launcher is an entirely fictional design. It was custom-built for the production out of parts from a Heckler & Koch HK94 (mainly the stock and pistol grip) and a six-shot AN-M5 aircraft pyrotechnic discharger (a 37mm flare launcher).
  • The real-life goblin spider species Predatoroonops poncho is named after Poncho Ramirez; every member of the Predatoroonops genus has a name that references Predator, due to the perceived similarity between the spider's mouthparts and the Predator's mandibles.[10]

Quotes[]

  • Poncho: Do You Remember Afghanistan?
  • Billy: [looking at Pancho after being hit by a log] He's busted up pretty bad, Major.
  • Poncho: [in pain] I can make it! I can make it.
  • Poncho: Not a thing. Not a fucking trace. No blood, no bodies... We hit nothing!
  • Poncho: [seeing the body of the pig that almost killed Mac] Jesus, you killed a pig... Think you could'a found something bigger?
  • Mac: [Billy laughs loudly] Fuck you, Poncho! Fuck you!

Appearances[]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Paul Monette. Predator, p. 15 (1987), Jove Books.
  2. Poncho's actor's (Richard Chaves) height is 5ft 9 ½ (176.5 cm), so that is also how tall Poncho would have been.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Jim Thomas, John Thomas (writers), John McTiernan (director). Predator (1987), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
  4. Paul Monette. Predator, p. 118 (1987), Jove Books.
  5. Paul Monette. Predator, p. 168 (1987), Jove Books.
  6. Paul Monette. Predator, p. 3 (1987), Jove Books.
  7. Paul Monette. Predator, p. 9 (1987), Jove Books.
  8. Paul Monette. Predator, p. 49 (1987), Jove Books.
  9. John McTiernan, John Davis, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Shane Black, Stan WinstonIf It Bleeds, We Can Kill It: The Making of Predator (2004), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
  10. Brescovit, Bonaldo, Santos, Ott & Rheims, 2012: The Brazilian goblin spiders of the new genus Predatoroonops (Araneae, Oonopidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, n. 370, pp. 1–68 (whole text).
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