- "No worries. Braga keeps his word."
- ―Arturo Braga
Arturo Braga, also known by the alias Ramon Campos, is a former drug trafficker and leader of a drug cartel that ran heroin under the U.S.-Mexico border and an associate of Owen Shaw.
Biography
Early Life and Drug Trade
- "He's moved more heroin across the border than Escobar did in 10 years. This guy is becoming one of our biggest national threats, and we don't even have a picture of him. We don't have prints! Not even a godd*mn DOB!"
- ―Penning
Braga was born on August 9, 1968 and was raised in a lower income barrio in South America. According to Braga, he pulled himself out of the barrios and made a name for himself. At some point, he was arrested and incarcerated at the Tacumbú Penitentiary in Asunción, Paraguay. Following his release (or escape) from prison, Braga began getting involved in the world of drugs, and became the leader of a local drug cartel in Mexico.
Some time later, he came into contact with a foreign criminal named Owen Shaw, who taught Braga to expand his operations globally. In return, Braga began running drugs and even women for Shaw. Under Shaw's tutelage, the Braga Cartel rose in power, and eventually extended to the United States, where Braga and his cartel found a second home in Los Angeles. Braga then gained a reputation of being someone who trafficked more heroin than that of Pablo Escobar and his successful smuggling of heroin into the United States caused him to be put under the FBI's radar; however, Braga had created a new identity for himself as a countermeasure - acting as Ramon Campos, Braga's second-in-command. Although those in Braga's inner circle were aware that Campos was Braga, to the outside world, Braga's true identity was a mystery and it would seem that Campos was just Braga's proxy.
Fast & Furious
Braga was first seen when Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner are trying to secure a spot in Braga's driving team. Dom wins and joined Braga's team to smuggle heroin into Mexico. After one of his drivers was arrested, Brian joined his team. Brian and Dom never knew the true identity of Braga whilst they were working for him until they discover that Ramon Campos is actually Braga - but he escaped to Mexico before they can apprehend him. He was later recaptured by Brian and Dom as they race back to the U.S via the tunnels. Brian's car was disabled but he and Brian survived. His right hand man Fenix Calderon (who seemingly murdered Letty Ortiz) was killed by Dominic, and Braga was sentenced to life in prison.
Fast & Furious 6
When Brian smuggled into prison to interrogate Braga about Letty. He revealed that Letty survived the crash and explosion but suffered from amnesia. He sent Owen to finish the job but, because Letty had no memory, Owen recruited her. Braga and his men later attacked Brian but he managed to subdue them, with Brian stabbing Braga with a shank afterwards in order to force him to give information about Owen.
Relationships
Allies
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Enemies |
Trivia
- Braga is the main antagonist of Fast & Furious.
- Braga is the first antagonist to appear in multiple films.
- Braga is also the only antagonist to have a non-cameo appearance in multiple films, Luke Hobbs doesn't count, because he only serves as an antagonist in the beginning of Fast Five.
- According to the FBI file on Ramon Campos, he was born on August 9, 1968.
- At some point in time, Braga served time at the Tacumbú Penitentiary in Paraguay; during his incarceration, his fingerprints were manually taken by ink. In 2009, Paraguay uploaded those fingerprints to the FBI database at Agent Trinh's request, giving the FBI proof that Braga's right hand man, Ramon Campos, was in fact Arturo Braga all along.
Gallery
References