El Buitre

El Buitre (Spanish: The Vulture) was a major character in Awakening. He was a member of a local cartel in Sinaloa, Mexico, who was involved in the disappearance of Luisa Herrera. He is portrayed by Rick Genest.

Background
Little is known about El Buitre's background, although it is mentioned that his mother was murdered by a cartel when he around seven years old. He joined the Sinaloa Cartel at some point, working as a hitman for them, though he states he kills for anyone who pays him. He also learnt to speak English fluently.

Awakening
El Buitre is seen at the beginning of Part One, where he ambushes Luisa Herrera by lying in the road as she drives along, pretending to be injured to lure her out. When she announces herself, El Buitre stands up, draws his gun and advances upon her, firing at her. El Buitre helped abduct Luisa and also terrorised a local group of farmhands who had given DNA samples to Luisa after being robbed, torturing and killing several of them. He is later captured by gustavo's men and arrested as a suspect in the disappearance of Luisa and the farmhands. When Nikki Alexander insists on getting a DNA sample from him to confirm, El Buitre promptly spits on her cheek, thus giving her what she needs.

Nikki and Jack Hodgson later go to his prison cell to try and question him on where to find Luisa and the farmhands, only to discover he is diabetic and has slipped into a hypoglycemic coma. Jack and Nikki are able to save him by identifying the problem and giving him cola to drink. Nikki, not wanting the police to use his condition as an excuse to release him without finding out what happened to Luisa and the others, volunteers to come in and inject El Buitre with insulin twice a day until they have the evidence to charge him. During one such occasion, Nikki, infuriated with the lack of progress, threatens El Buitre, saying she won't administer the insulin unless he gives her information. El Buitre merely responds that unless they stop interfering with cartel business, then the hostages will be 'released' "one by one" - after being tortured and killed.

After Nikki is kidnapped and buried alive, Jack is contacted by a member of the cartel who offers to exchange Nikki for El Buitre. Jack, with Gustavo's help, breaks El Buitre out of prison by causing him to go into a diabetic shock so that they have an excuse to remove him. They bring El Buitre to the meeting place, but the cartel kill El Buitre with a single shot to the head, so that no one will know of their crimes, then drive off, revealing they had never planned to exchange Nikki. It is later revealed that Eva Vasquez was the one who took Nikki, she having struck a deal with the cartel to bring them El Buitre in exchange for the safe return of her kidnapped son; she took Nikki to manipulate Jack, knowing he had access to El Buitre.

Modus Operandi
El Buitre killed anyone the cartel wanted dead, or whoever he was paid to kill. When he abducted Luisa, he lay in the middle of the road, feigning injury or illness, to get her out of the car and to catch her off guard. He tortured his victims, burning a man with a blowtorch on at least one occasion, and usually killed by shooting his victims multiple times, particularly around the face to prevent identification.

Victims

 * Luisa Herrera (shot at and abducted)
 * At least twenty farmhands (helped abduct)
 * Hilario Lopez (tortured and shot)
 * Five unnamed men (tortured and shot)
 * Killed numerous others

Trivia

 * The extensive tattooing on El Buitre's face and body are actually real tattooes, which his actor, Rick Genest, is known for.