Santa Blanca Military Wing (Wildlands)
The army that swore to protect the nation now guards the cartel's throne.
The Santa Blanca Military Wing is the armed-forces faction encountered throughout Ghost Recon Wildlands (2017, Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft). In the game's world, the nation's regular army has been systematically co-opted by the Santa Blanca cartel, turning state military infrastructure—bases, checkpoints, and armored units—into the cartel's enforcement backbone. The player, operating as a CIA Ghost operative, must neutralize these forces across the open-world map as part of a broader campaign to dismantle the cartel's leadership.
Unlike the lighter-armed cartel street soldiers, the military wing fields heavier weapons, armored vehicles, tanks, and rotary-wing aircraft, and is organized around fortified base complexes scattered across every biome. They sit in the middle tier of the game's enemy hierarchy, above cartel foot soldiers and below the elite special-forces units, and represent the institutional arm through which the cartel projects state-level power.
Quick Facts
- Affiliation
- Santa Blanca Armed Forces (cartel-influenced)
- Role
- Primary state-military antagonist faction
- First appears
- Ghost Recon Wildlands (2017)
- Developer
- Ubisoft Toronto
- Publisher
- Ubisoft
- Setting
- Santa Blanca (fictional South American nation)
- Enemy tier
- Mid-tier (above cartel soldiers, below special forces)
Lore & Background
Santa Blanca was once a sovereign nation with a conventional standing army. Over the course of the game's implied backstory, the Santa Blanca cartel—led by El Sueño—progressively infiltrated the chain of command, replacing loyal officers with pliable ones and redirecting logistics, fuel, and ammunition toward cartel operations. By the time the Ghosts arrive, the military is no longer a neutral state actor; it functions as the cartel's heavy-arms division, garrisoning borders, patrolling highways, and defending the production and distribution nodes that keep the drug trade moving.
The military's bases are the most heavily fortified enemy installations in the game. They combine perimeter defenses, vehicle garages, communication centers, and command bunkers, and are defended by layered infantry, machine-gun emplacements, and in some cases armored columns or helicopter support. Taking a base by stealth requires careful route planning around sensor coverage; a direct assault demands suppression of vehicle assets before infantry push.
The broader narrative implication is that the cartel does not merely exist alongside the state—it has effectively replaced the state's coercive apparatus. Every military checkpoint the Ghosts bypass or destroy is a visible severing of that link, and the campaign's progression through military strongholds mirrors the gradual collapse of the cartel's institutional grip on Santa Blanca.
Reader's Guide
The Santa Blanca Military Wing is the armed-forces enemy tier in Ghost Recon Wildlands. Throughout the campaign, military units are encountered at dedicated base complexes, along major road checkpoints, and in mobile convoys across all biomes. They are more heavily equipped than standard cartel soldiers, fielding automatic rifles, heavy machine guns, armored vehicles, tanks, and in some cases helicopter support. Military bases are the most complex enemy installations in the game.
They typically feature a layered layout: outer perimeter with sensor posts and light infantry, a middle zone with vehicle garages and supply depots, and an inner command area with officers and communications equipment. Players can approach by stealth—using the map's sensor-coverage overlays to plan a route—or commit to a direct assault, which requires neutralizing vehicle assets and heavy emplacements before pushing infantry. These units matter to the overall campaign because they represent the cartel's co-opting of the state.
The Ghosts' mission is to dismantle the cartel's leadership and infrastructure, and the military wing is the institutional arm that gives the cartel state-level legitimacy and heavy firepower. Progressing through military strongholds is a visible marker of the cartel's grip on Santa Blanca loosening. In co-op play (up to four players), military engagements scale in difficulty, with additional vehicle assets and reinforced infantry. The military tier sits between the lighter cartel soldiers and the elite special-forces units, making them a key mid-campaign challenge.
More in Story & Campaigns
Elsewhere in Ghost Recon
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced