Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)

Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018) is a thriller directed by Stefano Sollima and written by Taylor Sheridan. After ISIS commits a deadly bombing in Kansas City, CIA agent Matt Graver is recruited by the U.S. government to investigate. Suspecting involvement from Mexican drug cartels, Graver enlists Alejandro Gillick and collaborates with Department of Defense officials to instigate conflict between rival factions. To maintain plausible deniability, Graver seeks assistance from PMC official Andy Wheeldon for mercenaries, helicopters, and communication equipment. Meanwhile, Gillick carries out an assassination of a prominent lawyer from the Matamoros cartel in Mexico City while Graver’s team successfully captures Isabel Reyes, daughter of Carlos Reyes who leads the Sonoran drug cartel – rivals of the Matamoros – in a well-planned false flag operation.

Graver, Gillick and their team bring Isabel to a safe house in Texas, where they orchestrate a DEA raid to deceive her into thinking she was taken by the Matamoros cartel. They then transport her to an American military base while coordinating her repatriation to Mexico. The plan is to leave her at a Mexican Federal Police depot situated within enemy-controlled territory, heightening tensions between cartels. However, upon crossing the border, the corrupt police escort turns on them and launches an attack on their armored vehicles. In order to escape the ambush, Graver and his team are forced to engage in a firefight that results in 25 Mexican policemen being killed. In the chaos, Isabel flees into the desert and Gillick goes after her alone while the rest of the team returns to the US.