Santa Blanca Cartel

ENEMY FACTIONs

A cartel ruling part of Bolivia as a narco-state, producing huge amounts of cocaine.

Founded in 2008, the Santa Blanca Drug Cartel held their own as drug traffickers in Mexico. With Cocaine production becoming extremely profitable in Bolivia, Santa Blanca saw a great opportunity to expand, so they brutally introduced themselves to the current Bolivian dealers. Using bribery and intimidation, they came to an agreement with the government and La Unidad: stop the fighting and they can produce as much cocaine as they desire.

El Sueño

Nickname: El Sueño

NATIONALITY: Mexican

ROLE: Head of the Santa Blanca Cartel

El Sueño is the founder and leader of the Santa Blanca Cartel. He is a brutal but brilliant leader, insightful, reflective, and deeply religious. He instills fierce loyalty in his followers, but he is vicious with those who challenge him. When El Sueño was younger, he was a cartel sicario, a “hitman,” who never missed a target.

Cartel Hierarchy

Buchons rule 19 of the 21 provinces, which are linked to one of four operations: Production, Security, Influence, and Smuggling. An underboss and head of operations oversee each of these divisions. At the very top, the “jefe de jefes”, El Sueño, rules over them all.

Refer to the Provinces Chapter for details on how to access and defeat each boss.

Santa Blanca Cartel Hierarchical Structure

The main objective of Ghost Recon® Wildlands is to dismantle the cartel by eliminating the bosses, one at a time. Recon provinces to gather intel on local buchons. Eliminate the buchons in one operation to gain access to the ops bosses. Work your way through enough ops bosses to reach El Sueño.

Troops

Cartel troops are found at any location taken over by Santa Blanca, as well as the living district of villages and towns. At times, they may even be found taking the fight straight to Unidad bases. Heed the warnings of enemy presence whenever travelling through new areas and prepare appropriately for the impending threat.

An enemy’s weapon may be picked up upon his death, but note that this does not unlock that gun in your loadout nor can it be modified. Once it is swapped out, it is lost.

If you’re spotted while attacking a Santa Blanca position, there is a good chance that reinforcements will be called. Watch for alarm towers or you risk being swarmed by cartel vehicles and choppers.

Troops fall into six archetypes:

Soldier (Rifleman)

Range: Medium

Mobility: Medium

Riflemen are the most common of Santa Blanca soldiers. They use cover whenever possible, moving between them to get the right shot. If a lieutenant is present, they follow and move with him. If you flee them or attack from afar, they may enter a vehicle and chase you down. While mostly present in Santa Blanca camps, keep an eye out for them in the wild as they patrol the roads of Bolivia.

Soldier (Gunman)

Range: Low

Mobility: High

Gunmen are the most aggressive members of the cartel. Quicker than riflemen, they use cover to reach a close range with their target—chasing the player down until one or the other is dead.

Sniper

Range: High

Mobility: Low

The Sniper is the long-range spotter/fighter. He seeks vantage points, such as watchtowers or terraces, and fights from there. He targets the player from afar and raises the alarm if spotted. Tends to take his time when shooting but inflicts massive damage.

Look for the white glare from the Sniper’s scope when unable to locate the threat. The light gets more prominent until he fires. Take advantage of this moment to quickly move out of his sights or take him down if already aiming his way.

Due to their vantage point and long range, Snipers should be a high priority at any enemy stronghold. Use Sync Shots to eliminate multiple Snipers with one shot.

Heavy Gunner

Range: Medium

Mobility: Low

Heavy Gunners are well armored and fight with a big LMG. Their armored helmets can sometimes make them more resistant to headshots. They slowly progress toward the player, shooting long bursts that inflict a lot of damage. They discharge suppressive fire, forcing you to take cover while their comrades reposition and swarm your position. Make these guys a priority among the foot soldiers and flank their position during assaults. Anyone caught directly in front of their LMG fire, should immediately seek shelter. Their slow speed does offer a glimmer of hope; just don’t freeze like a deer in headlights.

Veteran

Range: Medium

Mobility: Medium

Members of the cartel often need some authority. Veterans act as morale boosters, giving orders to their soldiers—such as chase the player down or defend the camp. Target these guys to destabilize the enemy. The Veteran should be a high priority once Snipers have been taken care of.

Manager

Weapon: Handgun

Strong leadership is required to keep the Santa Blanca Cartel going as well as enough people to manage each operation. Managers are found at some camps. Their behavior varies according to their own personality. They may hide, surrender, or even flee. In the latter case, you had better chase them down as they often provide useful intel on the surroundings.

At Supply Raids, Managers are unarmed with one duty; if there is any trouble, get the helicopter away from enemy hands. Therefore, this guy should be the first target.

Managers tend to flee to a waiting vehicle and if confronted, they cower and surrender. Be careful not to kill them in this state or it could lead to a game over. Note that named Managers often appear during the main missions, but behave in much the same way.

Santa Blanca Vehicles

The Santa Blanca Cartel’s fleet of vehicles is huge with a wide variety. Use their “official” automobiles to safely get into Santa Blanca strongholds. Automatic doors open when arriving in this manner.

The following are some examples of their vehicles.

4x4

The 4x4 is a small utility vehicle with decent handling and off-road capability.

APCs

The ultimate in armored vehicles, the APC has seating for the whole team and is equipped with a cannon at the gunner seat. Its handling and speed are surprisingly decent, but it will not win many races.

Pickup Truck

A crew cab pickup truck provides a decent option for the cartel with one model equipped with armor. Adequate for off-road travel though its size makes it tougher to handle than a few other options.

Four-door Sedans

A variety of four-door sedans are available with enough seating for the entire team. For the most part, they can withstand some pounding, but the older models suffer from subpar handling. None of them are ideal for off-road driving.

Sports Car

The sporty two-door is spotted around the more affluent areas of Bolivia and is driven by El Polito. Fun ride, especially around the switchbacks in mountainous territories, but don’t expect to fit the entire posse inside.

SUVs

The standard SUV provides plenty of seating, but does not possess the best handling. An Armored SUV with its mounted minigun is a great option for chasing the enemy, especially when attempting to stop a convoy.

Trophy Trucks

Two Trophy Trucks, a pickup and sporty utility vehicle, are plastered with the cartel’s insignia. The handling and off-road capabilities are far superior to other trucks, though they do only seat two.

Trucks

The cartel has a few Convoy Trucks available for whatever transporting needs they require. They are handy for sneaking two Ghosts into a base, but their slow speed and poor handling are not very ideal for much else. Expect to see a number of these during Supply Raids that require the player to stop a convoy.

Planes

A small propeller plane allows for flights across Bolivia. Find them on the cartel’s makeshift runways and at airports.

Helicopters

Helicopters are great for reaching tough locations, such as rooftops, mountain ledges, and peaks and the cartel possesses a couple of great options. Multiple models of the recon helicopter handle very well with a smaller form factor and can be equipped with Gatling guns or rockets. The support helicopter is bigger and more cumbersome, but holds dual miniguns for two gunners. It too can be equipped with a Gatling gun or rockets.