Mike Toreno is a central character in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. He is a government agent who has knowledge of the truth behind various historical lies, and also runs a drug cartel known as the Loco Syndicate.
Description[]
Toreno is highly suspicious of almost everybody and thus does not divulge many facts about his personal life during the game's story. Toreno works as an agent for an unknown government agency and is tasked with infiltrating local drug-dealing organizations. It's most likely that Toreno works for the Central Intelligence Agency, given his knowledge of Latin American politics and his involvement with the drugs trade, additionally during the mission N.O.E., Toreno claims that there are five agents watching him at one time: a DEA agent, an FBI agent, a Russian agent (likely from the FSK, given the Berlin Wall's existence in the GTA canon), a Cuban double agent, and Toreno's "pay masters", likely the CIA by process of elimination.
Toreno owns a secretive ranch in Tierra Robada, which he uses as a base of operations. The ranch is involved in a coverup with the local police, where it is claimed that the ranch doesn't even exist according to the GTA San Andreas website. Toreno's house also has some strange textures referencing myths, namely a copy of the UFO Map and a book known as Conspiracy Theory.
Because of his association with government agencies and conspiracy theories, Toreno has been interlinked with many myths in the game.
Drugs Trade[]
Toreno was an active member of the San Fierro drug-trafficking gang known as the Loco Syndicate before it's members were killed off and Toreno himself was assumed dead in a helicopter crash. When CJ confronts Toreno about his membership in the group in the mission Highjack, Toreno says "Yes, when we last met, I was involved in battling threats in Latin America, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.". This implies that Toreno's infiltration of the drug trade somehow helped the situation in Latin America. This theory can also be supported during an early segment of WCTR News, where a "discredited Latin American dictator" claims that a government agency sold him weapons in exchange for drugs, which were later sold on the streets of San Andreas. This could have possibly been the doing of the Loco Syndicate. Additionally, during the mission Stowaway, it's claimed that the unknown agents are planning to unload a large sum of cash to a Middle Eastern dictator in exchange for weapons. Toreno sends Carl to stop the exchange because it would affect the similar mission that Toreno's agency is involved with:
“ |
Mike Toreno: Listen, Carl. We've got a problem. Some traitors from another department think they can help the 'oveseas situation' by financing militaristic dictators in exchange for arms contracts. |
” |
UFOs[]
As a presumed CIA agent, Toreno has been connected to UFOs and Aliens.
Inside Toreno's ranch is a copy of the UFO Map seen near some computers. Additionally, during the cutscene for Verdant Meadows, Toreno is seen reading a book about various paranormal phenomena titled Conspiracy Theory. It's possible that aliens could be mentioned in the same book.
During the mission Stowaway, the primary enemy is Men In Black from an unknown agency. In real life, the MIB is associated with intimidating UFO eyewitnesses as part of a coverup. It's unknown whether Toreno works with the Men In Black as part of his CIA duties, as the agents featured in Stowaway are part of a weapons trafficking ring, and Toreno even gets permission from his agency to eliminate them. Thus, it is possible that the MIB featured in the mission could be a rogue element, and that Toreno doesn't normally harbor a negative attitude towards them.
The mission N.O.E. involved CJ flying across San Andreas to deliver an unknown dangerous substance to agents in Angel Pine. Toreno forces CJ to do the mission because of the extreme risk, as he claims five rival agents were watching him at that moment, and that the Air Force would shoot the plane down if spotted. On the undercarriage of the plane are four bronze cylinders with a green and brown pattern on each container. This could possibly be the alien Green Goo that appears later in the game's story, even showing up at the Verdant Meadows airfield, where The Truth would later keep his vial of the Green Goo; it could also just be a crude camouflage pattern painted on the cylinders.
Spying[]
- Main article: The Spy
Toreno is the subject of a major myth known as The Spy. Fan rumors state that Toreno will follow CJ around the game world, aiming a camera at him during the late-night hours. The video which originally showcased the myth featured Toreno, which was the impetus for a lot more investigation into his character. During the mission Interdiction, Toreno claims that "I am always watching, or listening, or both.", which is used as evidence that Toreno is stalking CJ outside of missions.