Cesar Rodriguez
In the 1950s, the CIA came to Havana with suitcases stuffed with cash, desperate to prop up the
Batista dictatorship that had turned Cuba over to the U.S. corporations. It was the thick of the
Cold War, and Washington feared a communist outpost so close to the Florida coast. Cesar Rodriguez was a young officer in the Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities (BRAC), energetic and idealistic, ignorant of geopolitics. He was horrified when he learned that his agency tortured its detainees and that he was expected to participate. In time, though, he rationalized his behavior, as others did, in the name of maintaining law and order.
Except the order did not last. No matter how many bombings the BRAC foiled, how many spies they killed, the revolutionaries refused to be broken. Cesar watched helplessly as all the men he once admired and respected fled their homeland in a panic. He was content to stay and die. Out of appreciation for his enthusiasm (and recognition of his abilities), a Lasombra exile bound for the U.S. took him with her rather than let him waste himself in a pointless shoot-out with Castro's troops. She taught and tested him, showing him how to play the opening games of the Jyhad. He acted as her companion and bodyguard, and when she became a bishop of Miami, he served as her templar and fixer.
He grew adept at cleaning up the messes of fellow Cainites, of making evidence as well as witnesses disappear. Much as in his mortal life, he found his dirty work thankless and debasing. The self-imposed chaos of the Sabbat meant there would always be disorder and bloodshed. His sire thought she could control the chaos, in the end, it consumed her. Cesar understood there was no controlling the madness, only chances to profit from it.
In 1984, shortly after Cesar succeeded his sire as leader of Los Perros del Noche, he steered his pack away
from warfare with the Camarilla to acting as enforcers-for-hire among the Miami Sabbat. They guarded communal havens, escorted Cainites in and out of South Florida, and raided the safehouses of designated targets in exchange for various resources (money, blood, political favors, etc.).
Just as in life, the upper crust paid better than the bottom-feeders, so gradually Los Perros
became seen as the armed wing of the ruling class. It is a perception that persists to this day, although its character has changed somewhat as it has absorbed several rival packs in the last few decades. Most of the original pre-1984 members are gone, having become sacrifices in Cesar's service.
For services rendered, Cesar ascended to the position of bishop in the 1990s, a title that was and remains predicated on the ability of Los Perros to contain Miami's more unruly monsters.
This is a Herculean task, and what makes Cesar so effective at it is his complete lack of dogma or morality in doing what needs to be done. He is an enthusiastic enforcer of the Status Quo, but this is a role of necessity, not choice; keeping a jackboot on the right necks is all he knows to do, and he does it well. It cannot be claimed he acts in pursuit of comfort. He sees to the enforcing of the sect's convents personally, unafraid to risk his existence in the field. He takes pride in working “with his hands,” something he points out that many elders appear loathe to do despite the need.
He is known for using the torture methods he perfected as a BRAC agent on those vampires Los Perros take prisoner in their operations, cavalierly using them in acquiring even trivial information. Cesar is hated among the younger, rowdier packs, who mock him with the Camarilla appellation “Sheriff.” To this, Cesar replies that he's not law enforcement, he's a contractor. Besides, like Machiavelli says, it is better to be feared than loved since the masses are fickle, and Sabbat Cainites are fickle indeed.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Cesar is a tall and slender olive skinned Cuban man, his face and body a series of sharp angles. Underneath his avian nose is a groomed beard that matches his dark eyes and bushy hair. He often appears weary and hunched over in conservative, trendy outfits; he particularly likes light jackets over dark turtlenecks.
Character Breakdown
- Sire: Catalina de Rosales
- Nature: Bravo
- Demeanor: Gallant
- Generation: 9th
- Willpower: 6
- Morality: Path of Power and the Inner Voice 4
Species
Date of Death
1968
Children
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Ruled Locations
Comments