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For the mission, see Mike Toreno (mission)

You just don't understand, do you, kid? It's all white knights and heroes. We have to make decisions, kid. You know, I try to set bad people on other bad people. And sometimes, I let good guys die.
— Mike Toreno to Carl Johnson in Interdiction.

Mike Toreno is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as a main character in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

History[]

Background[]

Little is known about Toreno's background, other than the fact he is an undercover agent from an unknown government agency who disguises himself as a drug supplier for and leader of the Loco Syndicate.

Events of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]

Carl Johnson first encounters Toreno when he and Cesar do some snooping with a Ballas drug van apparently headed for Angel Pine. When Carl and Cesar arrive at the rendezvous, they witness a meeting between Carl's former friend Ryder and the leading members of a drug cartel known as the Loco Syndicate, Jizzy B., T-Bone Mendez and Toreno himself.

The first time Carl personally meets Toreno is during Carl's brief tenure as Jizzy's hitman, after Toreno is abducted by a gang of Da Nang Boys who are stealing one of the syndicate's drug vans with the agent inside. CJ and T-Bone locate the vehicle at the Easter Bay Airport, and free Toreno. The agent is immediately suspicious of Carl and pulls a gun on him, but T-Bone convinces Toreno not to shoot him. All three then destroy the van, with the cocaine still inside, in order to eliminate any evidence.

Following the death of Jizzy B., the Triads plan to ambush the Syndicate's drug purchase at Pier 69. Carl assists them with a sniper rifle, but Toreno, who arrived by helicopter, notices Carl's victims on top of the pier buildings and aborts his landing. Carl later tracks the helicopter to another location and destroys it with a Rocket Launcher, seemingly killing Toreno.

Toreno, however, was never on the helicopter. After the Loco Syndicate Crack Factory is destroyed in San Fierro, Toreno goes incognito and, using a digitally-distorted voice, calls Carl to invite him to a ranch in Tierra Robada. Carl is shocked by Toreno's survival, and curses him as a mere drug dealer but Toreno reveals that he is in fact a government agent, and explains that he was distributing the cocaine to raise funds for overseas dictators and "useful" drug suppliers.

Toreno makes Carl an offer: if Carl works for him, taking down enemy agents and sabotaging rival agencies, no harm will come to Carl's now-incarcerated brother, Sean. If Carl does enough work for Toreno, Sweet will be granted an early release.

Toreno's assignments, which include commandeering a rival agency's truck and shooting down CIA choppers from a plateau, strike Carl as almost impossible.

Later, Toreno sends Carl to purchase the Verdant Meadows Airfield, a derelict landing strip in Bone County, and use the facility to have Carl trained as a pilot. Afterwards, he immediately assigns Carl with jobs involving what he had learned from training. One time, he tasks Carl to deliver a package halfway across the state using a plane. At one point, a container jet lands without warning at the airstrip, and men in black suits and sunglasses empty out of it. Toreno instructs Carl to sneak on board, bomb the plane and parachute back onto land safely.

While Toreno initially dismisses Carl as street trash, and uses Sweet as a bargaining chip to ensure Carl's obedience, his attitude changes as Carl proves his ability to get seemingly impossible jobs done, and he begins to display a level of trust with Carl, despite still thinking nothing of sending him on dangerous errands. After a lengthy hiatus, Toreno eventually returns and gives Carl one last job. He personally drives Carl to a bay just outside Blueberry in Red County, and sends him to infiltrate an LHD and steal a V/STOL fighter jet from the Easter Basin Naval Station. Carl successfully takes the jet, shoots down enemy planes and takes out several boats at the Sherman Reservoir. Carl is then exasperated with the danger he has been exposed to, and his rage only increases when Toreno leaves him to deal with the burden of the stolen jet.

Toreno shows up unannounced yet again in the mission Home Coming, and tells Carl that he has one more mission. Carl snaps and holds a gun to Toreno's face, but Toreno is unperturbed and tells him he should be getting a call. At that point, Carl receives a phone call from Sweet, who has been released from prison – true to his word, Toreno has secured Sweet's release. Carl asks Toreno about the "job", which Toreno explains is to pick up Sweet. Carl leaves to pick up his brother and Toreno is never seen again.

Character[]

Personality[]

Philosophically, Toreno is a highly cynical American imperialist. He primarily uses Carl as a courier, saboteur, and assassin. Though he knows of Frank Tenpenny and Eddie Pulaski's corrupt natures, Toreno does not use his power to stop them. He tells Carl in one mission, "we have to make decisions, kid. You know, I try to set bad people on other bad people. And sometimes, I let good guys die." Toreno, like Tenpenny, seems to have gravitated toward committing heinous acts in the name of a greater good, but unlike Tenpenny, Toreno is not corrupted by his power. He equates maintenance of the American socioeconomic system with the continued survival of the free world. Unlike many other bosses Carl works for, Toreno appears to be a man of his word, as he fulfilled his promise to Carl and secured his brother's early release from prison.

Appearance[]

Toreno appears as a middle aged man with dark, slicked back hair and blue eyes. He wears a navy blue blazer, a light blue dress shirt, a red regimental necktie, gray slacks, and black dress shoes.

Mission Appearances[]

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • During missions, the number plate on Toreno's Washington reads "OMEGA" (outside of missions, the Washington encountered at his ranch bears a standard plate). "OMEGA" could be a reference to the movie "True Lies" OMEGA Sector, "The Last Line of Defense", something which Toreno is adamant about.
  • Due to Toreno's involvement in Latin American politics and cocaine trafficking, it is likely that the agency he works for is the CIA (or a similar agency), which has often been suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, especially during the Nicaraguan Contra Wars. Other indications towards this are Toreno's involvement in the Loco Syndicate, an organisation involved in drug trafficking, and during N.O.E., when Toreno mentions the agencies watching him, he does not mention the CIA.
    • Additionally, Barbara Schternvart claims during a date with Carl Johnson that the whole desert is "crawling with CIA", and Toreno has a ranch in the area.
  • Toreno has many similarities with the United Liberty Paper contact in Grand Theft Auto IV. Both have the same personality, both force the main characters of their stories to do dirty and dangerous jobs for them (Carl Johnson forced by Toreno, while Niko was forced by the U.L. Paper Contact) and they both hint towards working for the CIA (although the U.L. Paper Contact has been confirmed to work for the IAA, the HD Universe equivalent of the CIA). Near the end of the storyline, each character receives what he wanted (Sweet's release from prison for Carl and Darko Brevic for Niko), to thank the protagonist for their cooperation.
  • His file names are torino.txd and torino.dff. Whether this is a beta name or a spelling mistake is unknown.

References[]

  1. MikeToreno-GTASA-Pier69Appearance

    Mike Toreno inside the Maverick in Pier 69. He can be seen briefly in-game during the helicopter scene.

Navigation[]

[ ve ]Characters in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
ProtagonistCarl Johnson
Main
characters
Sean "Sweet" Johnson | Kendl Johnson | Frank Tenpenny† | Big Smoke (Melvin Harris)† | Wu Zi Mu | The Truth | Cesar Vialpando | Catalina† | Salvatore Leone† | Madd Dogg | Kent Paul | Eddie Pulaski† | Ken Rosenberg | Mike Toreno | Ryder (Lance Wilson)† | Jizzy B.† | OG Loc (Jeffrey Cross) | T-Bone Mendez† | Guppy | Zero | Maccer
Minor
characters
Andre† |Benny† | Bettina | Berkley | Big Poppa† | Bogman | Claude | Construction Foreman† | Alan Crawford† | Derek | District Attorney | Dope | Dwaine | Emmet | Freddy† | Colonel Fuhrberger | Gal | Hazer | Janitor | Jimmy Hernandez† | Jethro | Jose | Kane† | Maria Latore | Ran Fa Li | Little Bill | Little Lion† | Little Weasel† | Mike | Su Xi Mu | Ralph Pendelbury† | Marco Forelli† | Mickey† | Old Reece | Jimmy Silverman | Johnny Sindacco† | The Snakehead† | The Triad Leader | Sunny | Big Bear (Barry Thorne) | Tony | Vagos gang members (Running Dog)† | B Dup (Mark Wayne) | Mr. Whittaker | Pizza Clerk | Preacher Bishop† | Rival Pimp† | Sweet's Girlfriend | The Dossier Carrier† | The Informant† | The Journalist† | The Reporter† | Unnamed Burger Shot Employee | Unnamed Crack Whore | Gasso Employee | Alan Crawford's Female Associate† | Mafia Goon 1 | Forelli Crime Family's pilot† | C.R.A.S.H. Rookies† | Cesar's Informant | Salvatore Leone's Bodyguard | Tim† | Tammy† | Loco Low Co. Mechanic | Driving School Tutor | Ammu-Nation Clerk
GirlfriendsDenise Robinson | Millie Perkins | Helena Wankstein | Katie Zhan | Michelle Cannes | Barbara Schternvart
Radio station characters
Radio DJsForth Right MC | The Funktipus | Julio G | Johnny Lawton | Mary-Beth Maybell | Phillip Michaels | Hans Oberlander | Johnny Parkinson | James Pedeaston | Marshall Peters | Mary Phillips | Peyton Phillips | Sage | Tommy Smith
Talk show hostsMarvin Trill | Christy MacIntyre | Maurice | James Pedeaston | Mary Phillips | Peyton Phillips | Derrick Thackery | Billy Dexter† | Lazlow
Talk show guestsAdam First | The Truth | Truck Driver | Emanuel | Julie | Hector | Rick | Vivian | Mill | Mike | 632369439 | Stewart | Kevin | Montag | Zero | Jizzy B.† | Jack Howitzer | OG Loc | Cris Formage | Darius Fontaine
News broadcastingRichard Burns | Lianne Forget | Madd Dogg | Big Smoke
Radio guestsThe Truth | OG Loc (Jeffrey Cross) | Big Wayne | Darius Fontaine | Jenna Forbes | Cris Formage | Jack Howitzer | Michael Hunt | Jimmy | Fernando Martinez | Tim | Reed Tucker
Mentioned
characters
Mary Alexander | Mike Andrews | Big Devil† | Bobby | CM Pink | Joey Leone | Tommy Vercetti | James Earl Cash | Mary Ellen | Herbie | Ho Chi | Beverly Johnson† | Brian Johnson† | Carl Johnson's Father | Ah Ah Kung | LB | Little Devil† | General Mills | Tony† | Jezz Torrent | Avrindar
Other
characters
Fraser Ashley | Morgan August | G.M. Berlotti | Big Smilky | Dr. Diablo | Gern Blanston | Henry Bolt† | D. Claremont | John Craig | Mary Fortune | Frank Gold | Hammerfist | Philip K. Jones | Ed Karson | Turk Martin | Cluck Norris | Jane Pole | Brontosaurus Rex | Rochell'le | Jeremy Smith | Brian Van Ginsberg | Scott Wilson
Deleted
characters
Officer Carver | Larry | Poncho | Psycho
† denotes Deceased, Italics denotes a status determined by the player's choice
Characters in GTA San Andreas | Category:Characters in GTA San Andreas | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Category:Characters
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