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| “ | Feel the trigger, sniper! It'll be the last time. | „ |
| ~ El Cirujano threatening Thomas Beckett. |
El Cirujano (also known as "The Surgeon") is the main antagonist of the 1993 film Sniper and an overarching antagonist for the rest of the series.
He was portrayed by Ken Radley.
Biography[]
Sniper[]
| “ | He's a f***ing spook. Ex-ClA. l met him once up in El Salvador. Now he's an enforcer for the cocaine monkeys. | „ |
| ~ Beckett explaining who El Cirujano is to Richard Miller. |
El Cirujano was an American citizen who, for most of his adult life, was an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency. Specifically, he was an interrogation expert. At some point, he left the CIA and abandoned his home country. He began working as a mercenary for Panamanian rebels led by the warlord General Miguel Alavarez. The United States attempted to kill both Alvarez and his financier, Colombian drug lord Raul Ochoa and sent Marine sniper Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett and NSC agent Richard Miller to take them out. Cirujano began trying to find information about this mission to eliminate his employers. Cirujano was listed as a target of opportunity, as was Desilva, a sniper trained by Beckett working with Cirujano and Alvarez.
A small band of Panamanian guerillas offer to guide Beckett and Miller through the jungle if they agree to kill Cirujano, who had mutilated their leader's hand years prior. The inexperienced Miller's attempt on Cirujano's life fails and he escapes, though Miller is convinced he did not survive. The botched assassination results in one of the guerillas dying. The guerillas accept Beckett's apology, but are unwilling to continue with them. Beckett attempts to find the priest that was his contact, only to discover that he had already been tortured and killed by El Cirujano.
The two arrive at the general's hacienda and Beckett's suspicions that Cirujano is still alive are proven correct. As the rebels close in on the two, Beckett attempts to provide covering fire for Miller. Seeing himself outnumbered, Beckett surrenders to the rebels. Knowing that Miller is watching, he stealthily releases a 7.62 NATO round while surrendering his rifle. Miller grabs the cartridge after Beckett is taken away. With night time approaching, Miller goes to the extraction site, but decides to head back and save Beckett. Miller kills Alvarez with a knife after he orders Cirujano to torture Beckett.
At the base camp, Beckett refuses to tell Cirujano anything. Cirujano sadistically tells Beckett to feel the trigger on his LAR Grizzly pistol, and says it will be the last time. Cirujano then slowly cuts off Beckett's trigger finger while he cries out in pain. Beckett spots the glare of Miller's scope and mouths the words "one shot, two kills", silently begging Miller to put him out of his misery. Beckett then tricks Cirujano into leaning down so they will both be shot. However, Miller is unwilling to kill Beckett and shoots Cirujano in the head, killing him and spraying Beckett with his blood. Miller and Beckett narrowly escape, with Beckett using Cirujano's Grizzly pistol to kill a pursuing rebel.
Sniper 2[]
| “ | I was in Panama... captured and tortured... and a young operative like yourself saved my life. I figured I owed him one. | „ |
| ~ Thomas Beckett mentions the torture he endured under El Cirujano to Cole in Sniper 2. |
Cirujano's act of cutting Beckett's trigger finger off would have a major ripple effect on the following films. In Sniper 2, it is revealed that Beckett was declared "unfit for duty" as a result of the injury and was honorably discharged from the Marines. Beckett was unable to fully adjust to civilian life or hold down a job and was working as a guide at a park where people could hunt animals in cages. He was recruited for a suicide mission in Serbia, with his only request being that he be returned to the Marines with his old rank. His request granted, Beckett was again a sniper, but had to use his middle finger to fire.
Later on in the film, Beckett's spotter, Cole, is arrested by Serbian authorities. Despite disliking Cole, Beckett risks his own life to rescue him. Cole asks Beckett why he came back for him because he would not rescue Beckett, and Beckett claims that he has his reasons. Later, Cole asks Beckett what his reasons are and Beckett explains that a young operative saved him from being tortured in Panama (referencing El Cirujano), so he wanted to return the favor.
Sniper 3[]
| “ | You suffered nerve damage when you lost the finger. The condition has been steadily deteriorating ever since. The digitorum tendon... when functioning normally, flexes and extends the finger. But here on the damaged hand... you could have an involuntary reflex at any time. And it's more likely to occur in a high-stress situation. What I see here, Thomas, also looks like the early stages of palsy. You can't be a Marine forever, you know. | „ |
| ~ Dr. Sydney Finnegan explains the damage El Cirujano inflicted on Beckett in Sniper 3. |
Again not mentioned, Cirujano's presence continues to loom over Sniper 3. Dr. Sydney Finnegan, one of Beckett's friends, is concerned about his health and does an X-ray of his injured hand. She reveals to Beckett that he actually suffered nerve damage when Cirujano cut off his trigger finger, which is also causing the early stages of palsy. Specifically, the digitorum tendon is causing involuntary jerks in Beckett's hand, which nearly costs him his life during the film.
Sniper: Reloaded[]
In Sniper: Reloaded, Richard Miller gives Beckett's son, Brandon, a LAR Grizzly Mark I pistol, the same one that El Cirujano used as his sidearm in the first Sniper. Miller explains that it was a gift from Brandon's father, revealing that Beckett actually kept Cirujano's pistol after the events of the first film and later gave it to Miller as a token of gratitude for saving his life.
Personality[]
El Cirujano was an evil and sadistic man who had no qualms about torturing innocent people savagely just to protect the warlords and drug trafficker's who employed him. Cirujano, despite pledging loyalty to the United States, did not hesitate to commit treason, abandon his citizenship and become the head torturer for enemies of his home country like Alvarez and Ochoa. It seems he only cared about money, as his loyalty depended on a price tag. Cirujano also seemed to enjoy torture and the very fact that he was willing to torture and murder an innocent priest is a particularly heinous act. Cirujano cutting off Beckett's trigger finger devastated the man so much he thought he had nothing left to live for and begged to be killed, even though he survived the ordeal, Cirujano effectively ruined Beckett's life.
Trivia[]
- Despite being a mere target of opportunity, Cirujano would go onto become their primary target and, as such, the main antagonist of Sniper, as he was the greatest threat to Beckett's survival and killed the vast majority of Beckett and Miller's allies. Cirujano's employer, Alvarez, had very little screen time.
- Cirujano is arguably the main antagonist of the Sniper franchise as a whole due to the severe disfigurement he inflicted on Beckett, that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
- El Cirujano's sidearm in the first film is a LAR Grizzly Mk I semi-automatic pistol chambered in .45 Winchester Magnum. The LAR Grizzly was a high-end weapon designed in the 1980s for silhouette shooting. Because the Grizzlies were all hand-fitted for accuracy and long-term durability, they had a very hefty price tag, highlighting Cirujano's wealth after becoming a private mercenary.
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 Villains
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Sniper Sniper 2 Sniper 3 Reloaded Legacy Ghost Shooter Ultimate Kill Assassin's End | ||