Mario Uriel Méndez, commonly known as El Cholito (born January 5, 1977, in David, Chiriquí) is a retired Panamanian football defender and currently is a manager.

[2] Méndez made his debut for Panama in an August 1996 friendly match against Honduras and has earned a total of 33 caps, scoring 4 goals.

He represented his country in 8 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[3] and El Cholito was part of the Panama squad that participated in the UNCAF Nations Cup 2003 held in Guatemala.

In the 2009 Apertura I championship, he led Atlético Chiriquí to their first qualification to the semifinals round after being 2nd in the general table.

In August 2011 he became assistant to Miguel Mansilla at Chorrillo after he was dismissed as manager of the Panama U-20's.