What happened to Raul Menendez in Black Ops 2?

Raul Menendez is the main antagonist in Black Ops 2's Campaign. However, despite being the "bad guy," he is one of the most beloved characters in the game, and possibly one of the most iconic villains in the COD franchise, along with Makarov. His story is a rather depressing one, which eventually led him to become an international terrorist in the game, with hatred in his heart, especially for the US defense forces.

So what happened to Menendez that turned him into a global terrorist, hell bent on bringing down the US? And what was his fate? In this article, we will take a look at Raul Mendendez's legacy in Black Ops 2, discussing every major event in his life so far.

Black Ops 2 Campaign recap: Who is Raul Menendez and what happened to him?

In the Black Ops 2 Campaign, Raul Menendez's story begins in Nicaragua. Raul had a rough childhood, growing up amidst a revolution, where he saw hundreds of people being slaughtered. This revolution was sparked by the US, and as a result, he grew up with hatred for them. Soon after, another tragedy strikes his homeland.

Raul nearly lost his sister. But here is the surprising part. He was about to lose his sister to fire in a warehouse that was owned by an American, who decided to burn it down for insurance fraud. This gave him one more reason to hate the Americans.

In war-torn Nicaragua, Raul began smuggling operations with his father, and they were known as the Menendez Cartel. They soon became powerful drug lords, and Raul was marked by the CIA.

Also read: Call of Duty Black Ops 7 cast revealed so far

So, Alex Mason and Woods, along with help from the CIA, go on a hunt for Raul. It unfortunately didn't go as planned, and the operation was a massive failure, which ended up taking the life of Raul Menendez's sister, the only person he truly loved.

This solidified hate in his heart for Americans, and thus began his plans to unleash terror in the US. He starts off by fooling Woods into taking out Alex Mason and had formed a close relationship with his son, David Mason, who he claims to share the same fate of being driven by loss.

Later in Black Ops 2, Raul Menendez starts Cordis Die, a terrorist organization intent on harming the US. However, he gets captured by David Mason, and at this point, players are given a choice - they can either kill Raul Menendez or spare him.

If players killed him, then that's the end of his story. However, if he is spared, there are two possible outcomes. One, he escapes the prison, kills Frank Woods, and he finally burns himself alive on top of his sister's grave. Two, he is locked up in a CIA prison and dies trying to escape.

We, however, don't know which ending is canon because of the latest Black Ops 7 reveal trailer, which confused players. Among the three characters teased, one of them was Raul Menendez.

So, if Raul is returning in Black Ops 7, then none of the endings of the original title follow. However, if Menendez was merely a construct in David Mason's head, then all of the aforementioned Black Ops 2 endings remain valid.

With that, it's a wrap-up of the Black Ops 2 story recap and the fate of the leader of Cordis Die, Raul Menendez.

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About the author

Rishabh is a gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who mainly covers Call of Duty and Valorant content. After completing his post-graduation in Finance, he went off the beaten track and decided to build a career in video game journalism. The opportunity to interview Valorant Pacific franchised teams back during VCT 2023: Pacific was a career highlight for Rishabh.

Rishabh prioritizes diving into the game himself and figuring out the specifics to ensure authenticity of content. He also tracks the social media accounts and blogs of developers and publishers to learn about official announcements and press releases, and cross-checks all facts even if they are derived from reputed sources.

Rishabh embarked on his video game journey in 2002, playing Contra and Mario, and his first AAA title was Max Payne 1. Currently, first-person shooter games engage him the most.

Rishabh regards streamer and esports athlete Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek as an inspirational figure since he rose from a humble background to become one of the biggest CS players and streamers in the world through sheer hard work and dedication.

Rishabh likes to keep himself updated on the latest trends in technology and listens to progressive rock music in his spare time.

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Edited by Abu Amjad Khan