Chico

Ricardo Valenciano Libre, better known as Chico, was a child soldier of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), operating in Costa Rica in the early 1970s. He was the younger brother of FSLN comandante Amanda Valenciano Libre. Because the Sandinistas had a hard time finding enough food in the jungle, Chico suffered from malnourishment, which made him shorter than kids of his age. Chico and Amanda called their father "mi viejo" (Spanish for "my old man").

Early life
During the Somoza regime, Chico and his sister, along with their FSLN unit led by their father, were forced to flee from Somoza's National Guard into Costa Rica by crossing the Rio San Juan. Amanda didn't intend to take him with, but he didn't have anyone else to look after him, and he also wanted to join his father's revolution. His unit attempted to keep him out of the fact that his fellow troops and his sister, in order to amass funds for weapons, food, and their "compas", had to resort to drug trafficking using a drug purifying plant owned by the KGB with a banana factory as a front, as well as using a route encompassed of bringing a barge in the marshes from the port to a train station, then offloading the cargo into a train to the banana plant, then taking another train to the coffee plant, and then loading it by truck to the United States to sell the drugs for their revolution.

However, he deduced what they were actually doing. Whenever he got into an argument with his sister, he often wandered around Costa Rica, which made him far more knowledgeable about territory than anyone else in the FSLN unit. In actuality, his "camping out" around the various areas were actually plans for him to burn down various parts of the plant. At one point when fighting Amanda, he left for Mt. Irazu and camped near the Irazu facility. He then bore witness to "El Basilisco."

The CIA mercenary group Peace Sentinel, shortly after invading Costa Rica, took over the FSLN's banana factory/drug purifying plant, forcing the FSLN to hide in their last remaining hideout, the boathouse. After Big Boss located the FSLN group and asked them about what was happening in Costa Rica with the secret force, Chico got into a fight with Amanda, and went over to the rest of the unit. When noticing Chrysalis come over, he tried to warn Amanda, although he had to do it twice as Amanda initially mistook his warning for exemplifying the fact that her unit only referred to her by her first name rather than Commandante. Despite their best efforts in keeping Chrysalis and its Kidnapper drones at bay, it still managed to capture Chico. Amanda was initially going to try and shoot him down (partially because of wanting to save him, and partially because she knew his being dead was better than his being tortured and being forced to sell out his compas), but Big Boss told her not to, as the height from the fall would most likely kill him.

Chico was then imprisoned and tortured by Peace Sentinel, forcing him to reveal his compas. Big Boss managed to get to his cell, and asked Chico about Peace Sentinel's cargo delivery route. Chico explained exactly how the cargo ws transported, and that he had witnessed Basilisk while out camping. He also admitted to having sold out his compas, wishing that he was dead. Big Boss then shot a photograph of Chico to "end his misery" and made him a new man, having him join the Militaires Sans Frontières, although under the condition that he wouldn't smoke until he was older. He then extracted Chico from the area via Fulton recovery, something that Chico expressed irritation and initially fear at.

Following his rescue, Chico requested that Big Boss do him a favor: If he encountered any prisoners of war that were originally from "El Frente," he rescue them while they were alive, both as amends for his talking under torture, and because they were his comrades. He also advised that Big Boss look out for UMAs. Chico also supplied intel to Big Boss about there being a barrier at Aldea de Los Despiertos, near his cell, that was both recent as well as vulnerable to C4 explosives, after Big Boss was forced to take down a T-72 tank that blocked the tunnel.

Afterwards, when Peace Walker arrived in Nicaragua, he expressed sorrow to Big Boss over the fate of The Boss's horse. He also, along with his sister, left MSF's Mother Base to regroup with the FSLN group. They then aided Big Boss at taking down Hot Coldman's U.S. missile base in Nicaragua, ironically also turning against their former ally, Vladimir Zadornov of the KGB, in the process. He also developed a particular hate for Zadornov afterwards, as whenever he escaped, he growled and shouted that the MSF had to get "that ugly Russian" back to Mother Base. His hatred was due to his belief that Zadornov tricked Paz Ortega Andrade. At some point, Chico, in order to get funding for MSF, requested to Big Boss to issue a photograph of Chrysalis and pass it off as a UFO photo to journalists, with Big Boss letting him largely because he thought that he wouldn't get far, anyways.

When MSF's Metal Gear ZEKE was completed, and Paz attempted to sabotage it in an attempt to delay having to fight Big Boss, Chico stumbled on her act, and was unable to stop her due to her being armed. During Paz and Big Boss's inevitable fight amongst each other, Chico repeatedly requested that Big Boss not kill her. After Paz's defeat, he also felt overwhelming guilt over not being able to stop her.

Some time later, he was revealed to have succeeded in leaking the photo to tabloid journalists, which resulted in the Grenadan Prime Minister Eric Gairy attempting to get the UN to fund an extraterrestrial investigation and research facility, which later concerned Kazuhira Miller and Big Boss when they discovered it, as they feared that Gairy would end up targeted by the CIA for the leak, and thus their inadvertently causing the situation to nearly go red.

Ground Zeroes
In 1975, a few months after the Peace Walker Incident, the MSF had discovered of Paz's survival and incarceration at Camp Omega, a facility located at the southernmost tip of Cuba. Chico overheard this and, still having feelings for the Cipher agent, attempted his own rescue mission, having snuck off a ship that was supposed to bring him to Havana while it did refueling near Santiago and made a trek through the 60 mile mountainous terrain between Santiago and the prison facility, with the Walkman being the only thing he brought with him to record the trek. Upon making it to the facility, Chico commented that the facility's security was suspiciously light, before continuing on, wondering where Paz was located. He then ducked to the ground, noting that although it was dark, the facility was swarming with soldiers, and that choppers were coming in and out of the facility repeatedly before getting caught in the glare of one of the chopper's lights. He then continued to get moving. He eventually tried to peek beyond a fence to see if he can visually spot Paz, but a guard posted at the fence forced him to retreat, causing him to realize that security may not have actually been light after all before stating that he'll find Paz regardless. He then briefly comforted himself, and eventually rushed towards a prison area because he thought he saw Paz in there. Unfortunately, he was spotted, forcing him to flee from dogs and presumably setting off the base alarm. He stopped to catch his breath, but he ended up ambushed by one of the guards and violently restrained, resulting in the tape accidentally playing "Love Deterrence" during the struggle. He was then placed inside of a cage, and reported in an emotional breakdown that he got caught and was imprisoned, yet they gave him back the recorder for some reason. He decided to use it to record what was going on inside the camp, revealing other prisoners in the area, and stated he hadn't found Paz yet. Afterwards, some guards arrived at his tiger cage and threw a female prisoner inside, not recognizing her (presumably due to her cropped hair) as Paz until she recognized him as Chico. However, the meeting was short lived, and they forcibly take her away from Chico's cell. Several days repeat, and Paz was then returned to Chico's cell, earlier than expected due to the sun still being up, as she was exhausted. Skull Face, the leader of a mysterious group named XOF, reminded the guards that he needed Paz alive. When he attempted to converse with her, Paz told him to not talk to her, threatening to scream if he does. Paz was later taken to the torture chamber, with Chico also taken along. While there, he overheard Paz's torture where she was belt-whipped and raped by Skull Face, horrifying him. Shortly afterwards, Skull Face, after taunting Chico about the minimal chances he had of escaping the facility and the American-owned soil, with neither the Cubans nor the Americans aiding him, and promised to let him escape only if he submitted to interrogation: Skull Face proceeded to torture him for information via whipping, specifically for information relating to Mother Base and MSF, as Skull Face and Big Boss allegedly go way back. Chico refused to answer, even telling him to repeatedly hit him when he started beating Paz. Skull Face eventually saw through his tactic and instead had her stripped to reveal how "repulsive" Paz actually was with her scars. He then had Paz gangraped in front of Chico in an attempt to force him to talk. Later on, he had Chico forced into Paz's cell and asked him whether he "found her sweet or sour." He was then forced to have sex with her, with Paz encouraging him to do so knowing there was no way around it. Afterwards, Chico, completely broken entirely by the events, revealed the stats of Mother Base, the numbers within MSF, as well as ZEKE's existence, though Skull Face admitted that he was only "halfway there." After being thrown back into his tiger cage, Paz admitted that she missed him, surprising Chico as he thought she didn't want to talk to him. Paz then kissed Chico and attempted to embrace him, but he ultimately refused. Chico was later forced into torturing Paz. She didn't talk, however, causing him to break down, with Paz yelling "coward." Skull Face then ordered Chico to be returned to his cage, as well as utter something in another language, as well as confiscating his recorder. Afterwards, his recorder was returned, although he learned from Skull Face that Paz allegedly stated that only she return to Big Boss and not Chico, as well as reminded him of his being tortured into betraying MSF. Afterwards, Skull Face had him record a SOS signal to Big Boss and MSF to distract him and rescue Chico, although he also revealed if he did so, Paz would be killed. Chico eventually ended up making the SOS signal, and was dragged back to his holding cage, with his recorder being confiscated again. This necessitated Big Boss to infiltrate the facility himself to rescue him, as well as Paz. During his capture, he was seemingly outfitted with a tiny hole on his chest, resembling a headphone outlet and had bolts driven into his achilles tendons which rendered him immobile. XOF would seek to use him for a Trojan Horse operation, with some form of leverage over him, with the inference that Paz had died, and of her death being painless.

He would end up being rescued by Big Boss, although he seemed to cower and try to get away from him, forcing Big Boss to knock him unconscious by strangling him due to otherwise risking exposing his presence to the guards. As Chico's feet were injured, Big Boss had to carry him to the chopper and place him onboard. After regaining consciousness, Chico remorsefully told Big Boss about Paz's presumed fate, with Big Boss also confiscating the Walkman. However, Big Boss eventually proved Chico wrong by bringing back an unconscious Paz, having deduced her location in the facility from the tape he had confiscated from Chico. However, they were then forced to perform emergency abdominal surgery on Paz when Chico discovered a bomb that a bomb had been implanted in her stomach, with Big Boss disposing of it as soon as possible.

Personality and traits
Chico enjoyed smoking, though he was often denied the opportunity to do so due to his age. After asking Big Boss for a cigarette on one occasion, he was amazed when he was offered a cigar, shortly before Big Boss snatched it away, claiming it's "not for kids." He later promised Big Boss to not smoke until he was older, in exchange for Big Boss sparing his life.

Chico was extremely fascinated with Cryptozoology and Unidentified Mysterious Animals (UMAs), especially the reptile parts of the study, as he believed dinosaurs still existed. He once expressed interest in visiting the Congo, partially due to wanting to see the Mokèlé-mbèmbé, but also expressed regret for not being able to help the failed Congo revolutionary movement succeed. When discussing the notion of cattle mutilation with Snake, Chico notes that "Even in our own town we had goats that died in strange ways. Some said they saw a monster - a lizard on two legs, covered in spines from its head all the way down its back". This references the Chupacabras, a UMA that wasn't officially reported until 1995 following a series of attacks in Puerto Rico, giving credibility to Chico's belief that reptilian UMAs could be found in the vicinity.

Chico also had an interest in extraterrestrial life and UFOs. On one occasion, Big Boss allowed Chico to sell photos of the Chrysalis AI weapon as a UFO, under the belief that he wouldn't get far. However, Chico later convinced a magazine seller to publish an article about UFO sightings using the photo. This indirectly resulted in the Prime Minister of Grenada Eric Gairy to request for the UN to establish an agency to study the UFO problem, especially after reports of cattle mutilations and abductions throughout the Americas. Chico also claimed to have once met an alien cat named Altargozo Elbakki Munyudar, who had come to Earth from the Andromeda Galaxy to check out Earth's nuclear weapons.

Chico had a crush on Paz, once mentioning to Big Boss that he had a hard time speaking with her and that he froze up every time he tried. Paz was aware of this and spoke about it several times in her audio diary.

Behind the scenes
Chico's Japanese voice actor is Kikuko Inoue, who previously voiced the Japanese versions of Rosemary in Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4, The Boss in Metal Gear Solid 3, and Sunny in Metal Gear Solid 4.

In both the post-mission Codec conversation upon being rescued from Aldea de los Despiertos, as well as his character quote in Mother Base's staff section, Chico cites his desire to become a hunter. Whether this was intended to reference the Monster Hunter franchise or not is unknown.

Occasionally, during Peace Walker 's Game Over sequence, Chico can be heard mimicking the accompanying theme with the word BAM!

Chico eventually was confirmed to be reappear in the upcoming game Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, appearing in the demo in a tiger cage-type prison on Camp Omega in Cuba. However, the trailer did not make it immediately clear that he was intended to be Chico, with it only being confirmed by the person hosting the demo, Sean Eyestone, in the extended 14 minute gameplay demo released by IGN. In addition, he was shown with a headset cord being plugged into a makeshift jack in his chest for unrevealed reasons. Although he does not appear in the night gameplay demo for the game, he was mentioned as one of the mission objectives, and Big Boss ended up rescuing another prisoner due to mistaking him for Chico. His real name, Ricardo Valenciano Libre, is revealed in the opening sequence of Ground Zeroes (as shown by Kojima on Twitter in a demonstration of the game's "remote play" feature).

Mother Base staff
"If you see any UMAs, you tell me, OK? Like ancient dinosaurs and rare monsters and stuff. When I grow up, I wanna be a hunter."

- Chico's character quote on Mother Base's staff menu.

Chico is a unique staff member at Mother Base, available after Snake rescues him at Aldea de los Despiertos. Unlike other unique staff members who can be placed among Mother Base staff (not counting Zadornov, who was placed in the Brig from the beginning of Chapter 5 to his demise at the end of Chapter 5, or Naked Snake/Big Boss, who is only accessible via missions and thus can't be placed on Mother Base), he doesn't have any skills. His job is "Child Soldier" ("Little Soldier" in the Japanese version). Despite this, however, he cannot be made playable in missions if placed onto the Combat Unit.




 * Life: 4000
 * Psyche: 6000
 * GMP: 5315
 * Combat Unit: D
 * Shoot: C
 * Reload: C
 * Throw: D
 * Place: C
 * Walk Speed: D
 * Run Speed: C
 * Fight: C
 * Defense: D
 * R&D Team: D
 * Mess Hall Team: C
 * Medical Team: D
 * Intel Team: A

If the player calls Chico while wearing the Amanda uniform, he'll briefly mistake the player for Amanda.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
 * Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops (trading card)
 * Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (first identified as "Ricardo Valenciano Libre")

Notes and references
Chico