General Ramon Esperanza

General Ramon Esperanza is the main antagonist of the 1990 action film Die Hard 2. He is a ruthless drug lord and the dictatorial ruler of the Republic of Val Verde.

He was portrayed by actor Franco Nero.

Biography
Esperanza is the corrupt leader of the Republic of Val Verde. During his fight against Communism, he went into the most notorious business of all, cocaine smuggling. Although he was overthrown as Val Verde's President, he wasn't to be extradited until sometime later. That is what Colonel Stuart heard over the TV. On his flight Foreign Military 1, Esperanza asked for a light from his guard. Then later on, kills his guard by strangling him with his handcuff chains. He then takes over the flight called "Foxtrot Michael 1" by Dulles Tower. He first kills the pilots then radios Stuart he will make a crash landing on a runway of his own choosing. John McClane encounters him first after landing but before the cop could arrest him, Stuart arrives to collect him then kill McClane. When the getaway plane was readied, Esperanza was the designated pilot for Stuart to fly to someplace peaceful where the law won't find them. However, McClane makes it onto the plane and causes a large fuel leak, then ignites it with his lighter which blows up the plane with Esperanza and everyone else still inside.

Trivia

 * Esperanza is similar to the following villains:
 * General Peter McAllister from Lethal Weapon; they are military villains who also happen to be drug dealers.
 * General Ivan Radek from Air Force One; they are dictatorial leaders who were incarcerated, which drove their colonels to have them released.
 * Esperanza is the Bigger Bad since he's the man behind Colonel Stuart and had bigger plans than Stuart.