'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Infiltrator is a biographical crime drama thriller film released on July 13, 2016. It was directed by Brad Furman and written by Ellen Brown Furman based on the autobiography of Robert Mazur, a special agent of U.S. Customs.
This motion picture is set in the 1980s with a plot following Mazur portrayed by Bryan Cranston. The film based on a true story follows his undercover adventures designed to penetrate and tear down the vast Pablo Escobar money-laundering network. This all has been extremely dangerous and risky. It uncovered not only the world of global drug trafficking but also those complex operations that serviced such an empire.
The cast includes Mazur's undercover partner played by Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt in a key figure position with the cartel, and a fellow agent played by John Leguizamo. Supporting roles of Saïd Taghmaoui, Joe Gilgun, and Amy Ryan only enhance the drama-suspenseful action when Mazur walks a tightrope, double life rife with danger.
Trending
Who is Robert Mazur, the man behind The Infiltrator?
Robert Mazur is one of the most renowned money laundering experts, respected both in the United States and in Canada. For 27 years as a federal agent, Mazur worked for 11 years in U.S. Customs and IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), and also worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Working under an alias as Bob Musella, the businessman would go undercover and knew how to clean money into a rather more liquid sum. Such capabilities in finance and administration blended well with experience in both banking and brokerage, giving him just the ticket to handle such a role.
Today, he is the president of KYC Solutions and the author of two memoirs: The Infiltrator: My Secret Life Inside the Dirty Banks Behind Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel and The Betrayal, recounting his infiltration of the Cali Cartel.
Mazur's work informed significant law enforcement strategies; his work has also provided personal value. Mazur wrote an op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times and disclosed he is fighting prostate cancer; he looked to inspire others fighting like him.
What was Operation C-Chase in The Infiltrator, and why was it so significant?
Operation C-Chase was Mazur's bold undercover operation designed to dismantle the money-laundering network of Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel. It targeted the financial systems supporting the cartel, leading to one of the largest crackdowns in the history of drug trafficking.
The operation uncovered over USD 500 million in transactions through foreign banks, putting into relief the enormous dimensions of the financial empire of the cartel. Wielding an ultra-modern recording device concealed in a briefcase, Mazur gained entry into both inner circles of the cartel and involved financial houses.
Mazur, with the aid of a female agent who feigned to be his fiancée, gained the confidence of the cartel leaders and corrupt bankers to seal his undercover identity. Operation C-Chase ended in an elaborate staged wedding where the key figures from the underworld were lured into a trap.
At the bachelor party, these men were taken away in separate limousines and arrested as soon as they arrived. This was a dramatic finish to the mission and a great triumph in the war against the drug cartels.
How did Mazur build his undercover persona in The Infiltrator and navigate such danger?
In The Infiltrator, it took Bob Musella many preparations to put on the cloak personality. Mazur had practiced for two years so that he got in a mindset and attitude of what this role expected from him. His past experience of handling finance was very apt before entering the shoes of an upscale businessman capable of carrying his enormous business portfolios.
With the help of informants who established Musella's credibility in the underworld, Mazur entered a high-risk double life involving luxury cars, lavish hotel stays, and constant surveillance by over 200 agents across multiple countries.
After all, all that luxury mask could hardly veil the actual fact, that this mission was a very dangerous business. As Mazur noted in Gentleman's Journal, at any given point of the operation he underwent, there was a risk. First of all, agents not only took pain to safeguard him and his partner, Kathy Ertz but also monitored their every movement.
It is their survival that was assured by careful planning and an effective network of law enforcement professionals who stood by them in The Infiltrator. The scam culminated during the staged wedding when many of the most influential corrupt figures were lured out and consequently captured and prosecuted.
The Infiltrator is now available for streaming on Netflix and Prime Video.
