Barry Seal was a real-life informant who appears as a character in The Infiltrator, but there’s much more to his story that the film leaves out. In The Infiltrator’s cast, Seal is played by actor Michael Paré. In real life, Seal was an American airline pilot born in 1939 who became a drug smuggler for the cartel, working under Pablo Escobar. He began by transporting small quantities of marijuana in 1976, and by 1978, he was fully involved in transporting large shipments of cocaine. In 1981, he began working for the Medellín Cartel.
By that same year, the DEA was already onto Barry Seal’s smuggling side hustle. In 1983, he was charged, and by 1984, Seal offered himself to law enforcement as an informant. He participated in two major undercover operations, leading to arrests not dissimilar to those made in The Infiltrator’s ending, before answering for his own crimes in Florida and Louisiana. After his trials, he was exposed by the press for working undercover for law enforcement, leading to the cartel putting a hit out on him. His death is shown in The Infiltrator, but it’s not realistically accurate.
Barry Seal’s Role In The Infiltrator Movie Explained
Barry Seal Is Killed In A Motorcycle Drive-By Shooting
The Infiltrator’s primary focus is on Robert Mazur (Bryan Cranston), an undercover law enforcement officer who works in money laundering for the cartels, leading to over 100 arrests. Roughly halfway through the film, Mazur meets with Barry Seal at a dog race and tries to broker a deal with him to manage his money. After suggesting that it’s too soon in their business relationship to do so, the film cuts to a scene in the car where Seal is mouthing off on his issues with American society.
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The Infiltrator: How Long The Real Robert Mazur Spent Undercover
The real Robert Mazur, who inspired the character in The Infiltrator, uncovered explosive evidence to take down Pablo Escobar’s cartel.
The scene is cut short in a brutal fashion when a drive-by shooter on the back of a motorcycle pulls up next to them, shooting and killing Seal. The car topples over with Robert Mazur in the passenger seat, forcing him to flee the scene covered in blood. He then swears on the phone that he plans on claiming his meeting with Barry Seal never happened. While Seal was murdered by the cartel, this moment in the film is fictional.
Tom Cruise plays Barry Seal in the 2017 movie
American Made
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How Informant Barry Seal Was Killed By The Medellín Cartel In Real-Life
Barry Seal Was Gunned Down In A Salvation Army Parking Lot
In real life, Barry Seal had no known connections to Robert Mazur, so it’s highly doubtful he was present when Seal was murdered. However, the actual event transpired in a similarly brutal fashion. In February 1986, Seal pulled his car into the parking lot of a Salvation Army, where he was gunned down by a man with a MAC-10 gun. Six men were later charged with his murder. Barry Seal’s life isn’t the main subject of The Infiltrator, but it’s an interesting tangent with a similar appeal.
The Infiltrator, directed by Brad Furman, chronicles the efforts of a U.S. Customs official who goes undercover to expose a complex money laundering operation tied to the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar. Set in the 1980s, the film delves into the intricate world of crime and corruption.
- Director
- Brad Furman
- Release Date
- July 13, 2016
- Cast
- John Leguizamo , Rubén Ochandiano , Diane Kruger , Juliet Aubrey , Saïd Taghmaoui , Amy Ryan , Benjamin Bratt , Simón Andreu , Bryan Cranston , Joseph Gilgun