El Rubio

Updated 2 November 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

El Rubio, real name Juan Strickler, is the drug lord whose private island is the target of The Cayo Perico Heist in GTA Online, released on 15 December 2020. Wikipedia calls him the main supplier to the Madrazo Cartel. He threatened to inform on the cartel unless it accepted new prices, so the player is hired to rob his compound.

Who is El Rubio?

El Rubio is the villain of The Cayo Perico Heist, an update to GTA Online released on 15 December 2020. Wikipedia names him Juan "El Rubio" Strickler and presents him as the most notorious drug dealer in the world. The GTA Wiki lists other nicknames such as the Blond Colombian.

Why does the player rob El Rubio?

According to Wikipedia, El Rubio is the chief supplier of the Madrazo Cartel, and he threatened to report the cartel to the DEA unless it renegotiated its prices. The cartel, run by Martin Madrazo and his son Miguel, responds by recruiting the player to raid his compound and take what they can. The GTA Wiki notes that Miguel first gets in touch with the player in late 2020 in the story.

Where does El Rubio live?

His base is Cayo Perico, a private island in the Caribbean off the coast of Colombia, according to the GTA Wiki. The island is the centre of his drug business, and his heavily guarded compound holds the vault the player breaks into. The player reaches the island from the Pavel-crewed Kosatka submarine, which Wikipedia says the heist requires.

What is El Rubio like?

The GTA Wiki describes a man with two faces. In public he plays a generous philanthropist; in private he is cruel and increasingly paranoid, and he sometimes has his own staff killed. When the player arrives on the island he is there to greet them, and during the heist he can join the fight himself, firing a minigun from his helicopter.

Who voices El Rubio?

Wikipedia's GTA Online article credits Joseph Melendez as his voice. For the heist itself, its approaches and its rewards, see our The Cayo Perico Heist article and the wider GTA heists page.