Bitores Mendez

"You carry the same blood as us, it seems. Nevertheless, you're an outsider. Just remember, if you become unpleasant to our eyes, you will face severe consequences..."

Bitores Mendez was the village chief of an isolated Spanish village, whom Leon S. Kennedy faced during his investigation of the region. A former Christian father, Mendez was one of the carriers of the Dominant Species Plaga parasite and soon after became the priest representing Los Iluminados to the villagers in place of the cult's revered elder, Osmund Saddler. Some of Mendez's distinguishing characteristics included his imposing stature, false left eye, extraordinary resistance to firearms, and superhuman strength. He led the hunt for Leon and President Graham's daughter, Ashley early on, leaving behind notes of his strategies to trap the two.

Biography
When Leon first encountered chief Mendez, he was unable to subdue the giant and was knocked unconscious. In their next encounter, Mendez caught Leon off guard and began to strangle him, but reconsidered once he realized that Leon was a host of Las Plagas, although he nonetheless warned him that if he becomes "unpleasant", he will kill him. Leon then pursued Mendez, who attacked Leon again, but was distracted by Ada Wong whom he left Leon to chase. He then observed Ada being tranquilized, and presumably had her brought to the Lift area to be sacrificed. He also proceeded to give strategies to the villagers to prevent Leon from completing his mission, as well as make Luis Sera a top priority target. However, after Leon managed to bypass a lot of his traps, Mendez changed tactics to make Leon the primary target, and also decided to wait him out at the Slaughterhouse.

In his final confrontation with Leon, Mendez trapped Leon in a building by twisting the metal door handles together with his bare hands. He turned back to Leon and was about to grab him. Leon rolled out of the way and kicked over a gas barrel, causing it to leak gasoline at Mendez's feet. After Leon shot the puddle of gasoline, the gas tank exploded. However, the explosion caused Mendez to mutate into a grotesque, inhuman form. His fingernails became elongated, sharp talons; a pair of segmented limbs burst from his back, and his torso was split by a thick, spinal column-like structure edged by tiny, moving legs, greatly increasing his already impressive height. Even severing him below the waist failed to kill him in this form, and in fact increased his mobility; he now used the limbs on his back to grab onto wooden beams.

It is unclear if this level of assimilation would eventually be demonstrated by all those infected by Las Plagas, or if Mendez was the subject of experimentation like many of the game's monsters.

Leon eventually killed Mendez and escaped from the barn, taking Mendez's fake eye, which was designed to be a digital key for a gate that led out of the village. Leon reunited with Ashley, unlocked the door with the eye, and headed onward with her to find their way back to civilization.

After his death, Osmund Saddler called the loss of both Mendez and Salazar a heart-breaking moment, but then promised to move on.