Enzo "Santi" Santiago Laste Valenzuela
Age:32
Gender: Male
Nationality: Chilean-Italian
Callsign: Condor
Primary Role: Grenadier
Secondary Role: Drone Operative
Appearance:
Enzo, or his common nickname derived from his middle name that is almost exclusively used, "Santi", stands at 6"0" (182 cm) with a lean but muscular build honed for agility and endurance rather than brute strength. His sun-weathered tan complexion hints at years spent outside, particularly sunburnt. His sharp, angular facial features are softened by his expressive dark brown eyes.
Santi keeps his black hair cropped shorter than in the photo, but he maintains a neatly trimmed beard, giving off the look of definitely a European-origin Chilean rather than that of a more local Mapuche. A small scar runs diagonally across his left eyebrow, a souvenir from his early days as a young soldier.
On operations, he dons standard-issue olive drab tactical gear and rolled-shirt fatigues (particularly an MARPAT-derived tropical green), including a plate carrier equipped with pouches for grenades and a compact drone controller, wearing a mix of Crye Precision gear and Mechanix gloves. His OPS-Core fast helmet, marked with the Chilean flag patch, features a mount for his quad-optic NVGs. His fatigues are are paired with durable Scarpa boots built to withstand harsh conditions and bogs.
Off-duty, Enzo favors outdoor gear: moisture-wicking shirts, checked shirts, cargo pants and a boonie hat- his tacti-cool loadouts when trying to blend in with the populace.
Voice Claim: Santiago Cabrera
Santi's voice is deep and crisp, accent of his Chilean roots.
Bio/Personality:
Santi is all about efficiency when he is boots on the ground. His decisions are grounded in practicality, not idealism. He believes in getting the job done with minimal resources and often shows a level of calmness and composure that contrasts with his sometimes chaotic methods, namely, the blowing stuff up parts. He’s more interested in getting the job done, and getting out- if he has the intel, he sees merit in moving fast rather than being patience.
Santi is fiery and boisterous, and usually is direct to the point, being willing to argue or make his point if he believes it. It also means he is willing to follow though, to the order, but he won’t sit and be overruled. He wants answers but isn’t so stubborn to not fall in line. A good soldier, but sometimes a difficult one.
He usually quips a bit more with darker humour given he’s dealt with some very gruesome scenes hunting after cocaine-producing cartels, but, generally, is fairly light and is warm. The kind of guy who’s seen a fair chunk of dismemberment, but, doesn’t let it turn him inside out. Outside of combat, Santi is very easy-going. His interest in food, and his warm nature make him easy to like, but an absolute bastard to get on the wrong side of.
History:
Enzo “Santi” Santiago Laste Valenzuela was born and raised in Valdivia, Chile. Santi’s father, a former Chilean Army soldier turned Mining Engineer, and his schoolteacher mother (Italian, hailing from Genoa, also being a former Geologist) who raised Santi to be outdoorsy, inquisitive and have a relatively unsupervised childhood. Lucky for him, they avoided the temptation of spoiling him and instead, let him muck around as a kid despite coming from a relatively well-off household. Mining pays in Chile, especially the copper industries.
Shadowing his father, Enzo worked in the mines until he was 20, joining the Chilean Army due to a lack of other job opportunities or a desire to go to university (being a part of the reason why he is used to drones from their early phase). Santi’s intent was to get involved in the Chilean Army's Engineering Brigades- but this instead changed once it was realised that Santi could shoot, fight and soldier far better than any backstreet logistics man needed to. His use of a drone, inspired by his father’s surveying work in the vast open-cast mines that he worked on across the country, helped him find a niche and always a deployment, something he sought outside of Chile itself.
After serving in logistical roles, his aptitude for fighting made a transfer to the Brigada de Operaciones Especiales “Lautaro”, Chile’s premier special forces unit a straightforward choice, where he passed selection. He distinguished himself in particular in the Escuela de Montaña, Chile's renowned mountain warfare school. His technical aptitude can-do attitude got him advanced training in reconnaissance and working as a fireteam grenadier, alongside managing a fireteam of his own.
In the Lautaro Brigade, Santi developed his skills as a drone specialist when working within small fireteams, often with much more limited equipment than their Western counterparts but adapting to challenges that were thrown. His time with the unit saw Santi deployed on anti-smuggling operations in Patagonia and the Atacama, anti-cartel operations in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, and peacekeeping operations in Haiti, CAR, Honduras and Belize, being the reason he can speak French and English with decent fluency, alongside his native Spanish. Santi’s versatility and ingenuity earned him the respect of her peers and the nickname “Condor” for his aerial perspective, often on a tablet guiding teams or setting up fire from afar.
To put his service history in a clean manner would be unfair to someone who was more than often, deployed on short notice where and when
Over time, Santi became known for his ability to blend traditional guerrilla tactics with cutting-edge technology- but ultimately, remain adaptable. Santi’s mindset is that on the frontier at the end of the world, you work with what you have, rather than what you don’t, and a drone is the luxury you get on top of everything else.
Now in his early 30s, Santi is a key member of Spearhead, recruited based upon his ability to do just that.
Not a master of anything bar hybrid warfare and being able to use any tool at his disposal, Santi thrives on smaller-scale fighting rather than mechanised, air-support focussed warfare that traditional special forces might have access to. Despite his success, he remains grounded, and as ever, the keen explorer and outdoorsman he always was. This makes him useful in SOF teams that don't have that sort of support, and instead, need a Vaquero (Cowboy) like him.
Equipment:
Primary Weapon:
Knight's Stoner KS-1 Rifle, chambered in 5.56x45 with:
Underbarrel M320 Grenade Launcher
13.7" Barrel
1-10x Reptilla AUS Variable Optic, Aimpoint Micro-T1
AN/PEQ-15
KAC QDC Suppressor
Magpul PMAG Magazines
Olive Spray
(Subsonic munition loaded on need)
A specialist tool available to Spearhead, and a natural successor to the M4A1 that Santi has used on many an op before, the KS-1 (also known as the L403A1 in British SOF service) is an M4-derivative, gas-operated specialist rifle with a high degree of precision, a variable-zoom optic and RDS optic, designed as a lightweight, precise tool. For jungle and rainforest use, the rifle's previous platform makes it Santi's best friend for laying down grenades, or precise shooting, the high magnification even making it a low-calibre designated marksman rifle in a pinch.
Secondary Weapon:
FN FNX.45 with Osprey Suppressor, Night Sights
Grenade Arsenal:
6x M433 HEDP 40mm Grenades
2x Flashbang Grenades
4x 40mm Smoke Grenades (various)
Specialist Weapon (dependent on need):
Mikor M32 MGL
Drone Systems:
Recon Drone: Returnable, rechargable compact quadcopter with thermal imaging and GPS tagging.
1x Combat Drone: Fixed-wing SUAV drone with micro-explosive payload for precision strikes. Based on the RQ-11 Raven.
Other Equipment:
Tactical Knife (Scout)
Compact Toolset
Laser Rangefinder
Lightweight Tablet for Drone Control and EW Interface
GPS and Comms Device
Multi-Tool Kit
Hobbies:
Mountain climbing, particularly in Patagonia
Drone piloting and tinkering with new tech.
Playing guitar, particularly old Latin rock.
Cooking food
Likes:
Traditional Chilean food, especially seafood, asado and empanadas de mariscos
The sound of rain in the mountains
Loyalty and camaraderie.
Quiet, solitary moments to recharge.
Dislikes:
Inefficient planning
Unnecessary risk-taking
Cold coffee
Sandstorms
Anyone who makes a joke about watching their back while in a helicopter
Being confused for being from Texas
Other Skills:
Santi has a knack for improvising in the field. From makeshift shelters to rigging equipment for specific tasks, he’s known for his resourcefulness in tight spots. His ability to work with limited resources makes him invaluable when conventional methods are unavailable.
Growing up in Chile's varied terrain gave Santi a profound connection to the outdoors, from Patagonia to Atacama, making him relatively resilient to most weather. His mountaineering, wilderness survival, and navigation skills make him an asset in jungle, desert, and high-altitude operations.
Speaks Spanish, French and English, with a tiny bit of Italian from his mother too.
1x Like
