The Valentinos

The @Valentinos are one of the most iconic gangs in Night City, not just for their size but for the culture they embody. To outsiders, they appear as a flamboyant cartel with gold-plated pistols, custom chrome, and flashy lowriders. But beneath the aesthetics lies a gang built on three pillars: faith, family, and fear.

Origins & Identity

Emerging during the social collapse of the 21st century, the Valentinos began as a street brotherhood among Latino communities in Heywood. They were defenders first, protecting their neighborhoods from predatory corpos and rival gangs. But power breeds ambition—by 2077, they had transformed into one of Night City’s largest organized crime syndicates.

Every Valentino wears their identity on their skin: tattoos of saints, scripture, family names, and loved ones. They carry both the rosary and the gun, blending Catholic tradition with gang warfare. In their eyes, they are modern crusaders—saints of the street, shepherds of their barrios, but merciless against betrayal. The @Valentinos saw in @The Soul Killers something they could weaponize—a way to enforce their brand of justice and intimidation beyond bullets. Now, when the Valentinos want someone punished, they don’t just kill them. They hire @The Soul Killers to erase them from existence, body and mind.

Territory & Power

The Valentinos control large swaths of Heywood, especially Vista del Rey. Their presence there is so overwhelming that outsiders need permission to operate in the district. Their operations include:

  • Protection Rackets: Locals pay for safety, and in return, the Valentinos keep order—sometimes brutally.

  • Narcotics Trade: They dominate high-grade drug distribution, often blessed by priests who secretly double as money launderers.

  • Human Trafficking: The Valentinos maintain deep ties to flesh markets and cyber-brothels, supplying both product and protection.

  • Street Politics: They insert themselves into local governance, bribing officials and feeding their communities enough charity to maintain loyalty.

To live in Valentino territory is to live under their shadow. You might resent them, but you’ll also thank them when your child can walk home safe from another gang’s turf.

Values & Culture

The Valentinos live by a code that mixes familia, machismo, and Catholic faith:

  • Loyalty Above All: To betray the Valentinos is to sign your death warrant—not just yours, but your family’s.

  • Familia as Power: They see themselves as protectors of Latino culture in Night City, weaving deep social ties through blood, marriage, and community.

  • Faith in Violence: Many Valentinos wear crosses, attend mass, and invoke saints before battle. To them, violence is not just survival—it’s sacrament.

Leadership & Structure

The Valentinos are not a chaotic mob—they run like a cartel:

  • El Padre / La Madrina: The spiritual and operational leaders, usually seasoned veterans of the gang.

  • Capitanes: District lieutenants who manage drug flow, money laundering, and security.

  • Sicarios: Enforcers and hitmen, trained for brutality.

  • Soldados: The rank-and-file, often young initiates proving themselves through blood.

Initiation into the Valentinos often involves a violent act of loyalty—murder, theft, or sabotage. Once in, there is no way out.

Rivalries & Allies

  • Rivals: The Valentinos frequently clash with gangs like the 6th Street, who resent their dominance in Heywood, and Maelstrom, whose chaotic brutality violates the Valentinos’ sense of order.

  • The Valentinos get a weapon of fear no other gang can match. Rivals know that crossing them doesn’t just risk death, but the total erasure of who they are.

  • The Soul Killers gain the Valentinos’ protection, steady income, and access to victims pulled off the streets, cartels, and underground markets.

  • Corpo Connections: Rumors suggest some corporations quietly funnel drugs or arms through Valentino channels, using the gang as deniable proxies. Some members have made it to high levels within corporations like @Valentina "Val" Delgado-Rosetti.

  • Community Allies: In their territories, priests, store owners, and locals may despise their methods but also rely on their money and protection.

Reputation in Night City

To the poor, the Valentinos are saints and devils. To rival gangs, they’re relentless crusaders who never forgive insults. To corporations, they’re both a nuisance and a tool. And to themselves, they are immortal, because family and faith can’t be erased.

Their message to Night City is clear:
“You can’t kill familia.”