Sicario is an American action thriller starring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, and Daniel Kaluuya. Blunt and Kaluuya play FBI agents working in the Phoenix Division.
The film grabs your attention from the very first scene and doesn’t let go until the credits start to roll.
Here’s the premise: Special Agent Kate Macer, an idealistic FBI agent, is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
At the beginning of the film Agent Macer, who successfully leads a kidnapping squad, volunteers to work with Matt Graver, a cunning CIA agent, on a secret multi-agency task force charged with stemming the flow of illegal drugs and disrupting and dismantling violent trafficking networks.
She soon discoverers the true nature of the special operations is for the Delta Team to facilitate the capture and assassination of Mexican drug lords in order to topple competing Mexican drug cartels.
FYI, sicario means assassin and hitman in Spanish.
Despite enjoying Sicario, I was reluctant to review it due to my lack of knowledge regarding FBI/CIA cooperation in international drug operations. I couldn’t find direct information on the FBI’s programs, policies, and procedures regarding its collaboration with the CIA (not a surprise).
Therefore, the entire movie was a teachable moment for me. How much of Sicario is true and how much is artistic license? I really don’t know.
I think it would be helpful to discuss the difference between the FBI and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). According to the FBI website, the CIA and FBI are both members of the U.S. Intelligence Community. The CIA, however, has no law enforcement function. Rather, it collects and analyzes information that is vital to the formation of U.S. policy, particularly in areas that impact the security of the nation.
The CIA is authorized to only collect information regarding foreign countries and their citizens. Unlike the FBI, it is prohibited from collecting information regarding “U.S. Persons,” a term that includes U.S. citizens, resident aliens, legal immigrants, and U.S. corporations, regardless of where they are located. (FBI Website)
As depicted in Sicario, I’m aware that U.S. and Mexico cross-border threats would trigger intelligence sharing between the CIA and FBI. The two agencies often work together on common domestic priorities to safeguard the United States and its citizens.
Here are a few lines from a scene in the movie when Agent Macer and her FBI partner, Special Agent Reggie Wayne, question the CIA task force’s illegal scheme.
Gravers: You guys will hang back when we get there, okay?
Macer: Then why are we going?
Gravers: CIA can’t operate in U.S. borders…
Wayne: Without a domestic agency attached.
Gravers: I told you, you’d be useful.
Macer: So that’s it. That’s why I’m here.
Gravers: That’s why. Hey, if we find any drugs, you guys get to confiscate ‘em.
Agents Macer and Wayne go along on the operation, but as a fact-finding mission. They dislike what they discover and Gravers and Alejandro, a mysterious and dangerous member of the task force, threaten them if they reveal the truth.
Sicario shows the “agency” using whatever means necessary to combat drug trafficking across the Mexican border.
It’s a fascinating and entertaining fictional film concept that generates comparisons to allegations, in the mid-1980s, that previous government administrations and the CIA worked overseas with organizations were involved in the drug trade and that agencies condoned or had knowledge of these activities and failed to address the drug issue. However, an investigation in 1998, by the CIA Inspector General, cleared the CIA of complicity with the inner-city crack cocaine trade.
If you’re interested in learning about a real-life scenario, read this DOJ press release about the May 2024 multi-agency operation, which led to the indictment and extradition of an alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader and his lead sicario. Although the CIA is not mentioned, we can assume intelligence gathered by the agency was utilized in the operation.
Listen to the following FBI Retired Case File Review episodes to learn more about how the FBI works overseas with our intelligence partners to combat international drug trafficking and terrorism:
103: Bob Clifford – MS-13, Mara Salvatrucha
Sicario generates more questions than it answers. Taylor Sheridan has written and filmed a sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado. A third movie is under development. If you haven’t seen Sicario yet, I highly recommend it.
