Angelo "Angel" Juan Marcos Batista[1] (/ˈeɪndʒəl/; Spanish [ˈaŋxel]) is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based.
He is portrayed in the television series by David Zayas (Dexter, and New Blood), and as the younger version of Batista by James Martinez (Original Sin).
Angelo "Angel" Juan Marcos Batista is a Detective in Miami Metro Police Department's Homicide Division.
Despite his tendency to act impulsively and make decisions based on emotions, Angel does not hold grudges, even when faced with difficult circumstances.
When Angel arrives on the scene of a foot chase called in by James Doakes (Erik King), he finds the suspect dead.
When he talks to Sota's widow (Bertila Damas) in his office, he ends up having a heated and frustrating argument with her about what her husband was actually doing to be targeted by the Butcher.
However, it appears as his life as a divorced father is beginning to take its toll; he risks his career to get a hooker who turns out to be an undercover cop.
He so fears losing her that he begins acting irrationally, leaving her a long-winded message begging forgiveness for having to cancel dinner because of work.
[7] By the start of season four, it appears that Batista and Barbara have amicably split, and he is now romantically involved with his Lieutenant, Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez).
LaGuerta teams up with the investigating officer, but that prompts Batista to be even more jealous; he starts checking her cell phone for suspicious messages and finds a rendezvous appointment in a hotel room.
Outraged, he walks in on them, only to find out that it was intended to be a sting operation to apprehend a corrupt narcotics cop, in which LaGuerta agreed to participate to bail Batista out of the investigation.
Debra breaks this news to Batista, who takes it in stride and congratulates her, but is still hurt by constantly being involved in LaGuerta's battles with Matthews.
Detective Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington) also begins criticizing Batista for not telling LaGuerta how he feels, which almost results in a fight at a crime scene.
When Jamie starts dating forensics intern Louis Greene (Josh Cooke), Batista makes a failed attempt to scare him away during a dinner with both of them.
Dexter later kills Saxon in full view of a security camera, but Batista accepts his claim of self-defense and lets him go.
In "Runaway", it is revealed that between the end of the original series and New Blood that Batista has been promoted to the Captain of Homicide of the Miami Metro Police Department.
In the series finale, "Sins of the Father", Batista is contacted by Bishop, who suspects Dexter of being the Bay Harbor Butcher, and sends him a picture of her and Morgan together dated a month prior.
In January 2025, David Zayas was confirmed as series regular in Dexter: Resurrection, reprising his role as Angel Batista.