Sanchez is a character who makes a one-time appearance in the Season 1 episode titled "Mad Over Miami".
Biography
Sanchez is a Cuban right-wing rebel who runs a private army comprising marielitos, cuban criminal gangs formed from emigres. When Ivan Rivera arranges a ransom for two Cuban political prisoners with the Cuban Colonel Fernandez, Dominic is asked to fly the ransom money of $2 million to Cuba but the ransom money is hijacked by an unknown Hughes 500 helicopter with armed troops on board.
Sanchez becomes Hawke's prime suspect as the hijacker of the ransom money, especially when Ivan Rivera reveals that he had borrowed half the money from Sanchez. Sanchez was a murderer and drug smuggler but also it seemed, the most organised among the marielitos. He runs a well armed private army which trained on a secret base in the Florida Keys.
Hawke and Dominic take Airwolf to find and shoot up Sanchez's camp but it turns out that Sanchez is being armed by none other than ... Archangel! Sanchez, Archangel explains, is being armed to fight Communism in South American trouble spots but Hawke is not impressed, and extracts $3 million from Archangel in order to try to ransom the prisoners again.
Dominic and Ivan River's grand daughter Stella Collarzo fly off to Cuba to deliver the ransom money. But Sanchez is not just sitting idly. It emerges that he is also working on his own account and in league with Colonel Fernendez for a share of the ransom money. But now he wants something more. He takes Hawke prisoner and demands that he hand over Airwolf, otherwise he will instruct Fernendez to terminate the ransom operation and take Dominic and Stella prisoner instead. When Hawke refuses, Sanchez calls Fernendez who, somewhat reluctantly, arrests Dominic and Stella when they land. Fortunately Hawke breaks free from Sanchez's men and makes off in Airwolf, arriving over Cuba to scatter Fernendez's troops and allow Dominic, Stella and the prisoners to escape. Sanchez arrives on the scene in his Hughes helicopter to give support to Fernendez and he has his sights on Dominic's Jetranger but Hawke swings Airwolf around and blows Sanchez's chopper up with a missile.
Sanchez shows off what he calls "the latest hand-launched heat-seeking missile" but it is in reality an unguided RPG-7 rocket launcher. He later uses it to engage Airwolf but fails to bring it down.
Portrayed By
Sanchez is played by Ismael Carlo,[1] also known as Ismael 'East' Carlo. He returns to play another rebel, this time a sergeant for Colonel Arturo Alzar in Season 2 Short Walk To Freedom (episode).