Juan Strickler



"Oh, hey! You’re not on the mainland now, huh? It’s my rules... Anything goes!"

- ―El Rubio welcoming Keinemusik, Dave and Gerald to Cayo Perico

Juan Strickler, also known as "El Rubio" is a character in the Rags To Riches series who appears in Rags To Riches - The Cayo Perico Heist. as the deuteragonist of the game, along with Martin El Madrazo, and Gerald Weston

Overview
He is considered the world's most notorious narcotrafficker, who owns the island of Cayo Perico, one of the most secure private islands in the entire world, and uses it as the nerve center of his drug empire. He was also involved in turf wars and the disappearance of reporters, and is also supplier to the Madrazo Cartel. In Heist Prep: Gather Intel, El Rubio mentions that his grandfather ("Opa") was German.

The storage rooms and office in his compound contain many photographs on the walls showing him engaged in various activities, including:


 * Playing Golf at Del Perro Golf Club in a Caddy.
 * Relaxing in the cave pool at the Richdude Mansion with two women in bikinis.
 * Dancing in front of a Festival Bus wearing a costume.
 * Piloting an unknown aircraft.
 * Fishing off the back of a Diggy or Apollo Mega Yacht.
 * Posing for a Police mugshot.
 * Posing at ACE Motor Sports with Harut Vartanyan in front of an orange Inferno.
 * Posing with two women inside a nightclub.
 * Standing outside the gate of the Enlighten Center in Sunshine Hills with an unidentified younger man.
 * Having dinner with a middle-aged woman overlooking the Downtown Del Perro skyline.

Events of The Cayo Perico Heist
Strickler is introduced by name when Gerald meets Miguel Madrazo at The Music Locker. Miguel claims he somehow managed to get hold of "decades' worth of intel" which he was threatening to take to the DEA unless the cartel renegotiate their drug supply prices.

Strickler is seen greeting the player, English Dave, and Keinemusik when they arrive at the island's airfield. After a short talk, Gerald is required to drive him and English Dave to the party, where he gets Scott Storch to read a pre-written sycophantic introduction speech before introducing Keinemusik to take over the DJ position. Later, while scoping out the island, the player witnesses Strickler ordering his guards to execute Gustavo Martinez for embarrassing him in front of his guests, by feeding him to his black panther. If the player returns to continue scoping out the island, Stricker can be found dancing in his seat at the beach party.

During the heist itself, Strickler resides in his secure compound and can be heard over the loudspeaker system berating his guards. Once he realized that his vault has been robbed, he mans the minigun of his Wonder MOD.0 to hunt for and attack Gerald. He will continuously taunt and insult Gerald via loudspeaker until they manage to escape the island.

Later, Strickler shows up at Martin's mansion, and angrily explains to him about the heist. Martin confronts Miguel, and Miguel tells Martin and Juan, that Gerald was the one who had robbed Juan's island. Martin, and Juan angrily appear at Gerald's apartment, and Gerald explains Miguel's plan. Martin gives Gerald a chance, forming the friendship of the three. The rest is history.

Personality
When in public, Stickler presents himself as a fun and generous philanthropist and attempts to maintain a good image. However, when alone, he is revealed to be a truly vicious and ruthless individual. During The Cayo Perico Heist, he can be heard threatening his guards over the speakers on the island, often times for minor things. Because of his brutality, he can be a very intimidating man, as seen during his conversation with Scott Storch.

Inspiration
El Rubio's character background appears to be inspired by Carlos Lehder, due to his German ancestry and Colombian nationality and the linguistic combination of Spanish and German in his name, and owning a private island who serves as a drug-smuggling operation headquarters and party island.

His voice is similar to Scarface film protagonist Tony Montana, portrayed by Al Pacino; both characters are obsessed by wild cats (and both have one as pets) and valuable antiques (as shown in Scarface: The World Is Yours video game). He appears to be voiced by André Sogliuzzo, who was chosen by Al Pacino himself to voice Tony Montana in the Scarface: The World Is Yours video game.

He also bears some resemblance to John McAfee, founder of McAfee Corporation, who has been the subject of paranoiac behavior and legal troubles over drug manufacturing, weapon possession, and murder during his residency in Belize in the early-2010s.

The literal translation of "El Rubio" is "The Blonde" in Spanish. His other nickname, "The Blond Colombian", also alludes to this.