Headscratchers / Sicario

• During the bridge shoot out scene, doesn't Kate know that they're completely justified in defending themselves from the cartel's attempt to get Guillermo back?
  • Look at her ears. She didn't have a radio and therefore couldn't hear the radio chatter. She didn't know about the rules of engagement nor everything leading up to it.
    • But Kate also heard Alejandro make the first callout that one of the sicarios had a gun, confirmed by Steve. If Matt's team had started shooting right then, they'd probably have been fine legally.
  • There's also the overall shadiness of how the extradition is being conducted. The only thing being done by-the-book about it is that the prisoner is being physically handled by two US Marshals. Otherwise, you have Delta Force operators being used in a legally nebulous capacity being led by two CIA agents who most certainly have no legal business being there along with what appears to be a foreign hitman, none of whom are members of law enforcement. The convoy opens fire on the cartel soldiers with civilians close by and there isn't even a superficial attempt to secure the scene once the shooting is over. From Kate's point of view, following the rules isn't even a secondary concern of the people she's working with.
  • In this case, the CIA was working in concert with the US Marshals, in the same manner that Matt used the FBI for the main operation. And this is assuming that Matt and Alejandro weren't covered under their no-doubt-immaculate paperwork showing them to be, as they claimed, DOD consultants, under which circumstance the need to use the Marshals for cover would be almost unnecessary. Otherwise, the actions occurring in Mexico were clearly done in concert with the Mexican government, and the US government can dispatch whomever it wants on an assignment like that, as long as the Mexicans consent. The actions by the US Army (Delta Force) on American soil are on shakier ground, but there are so many exceptions to posse comitatus (advisory and support roles, enforcement of federal law at the direction of the President, and what is basically a generalized exception for drug-related cases, under which uniformed personnel can operate relatively freely in the United States as long as they aren't putting cuffs on people or looking under mattresses) that any non-brain dead DOJ lawyer could justify it; the ops commander in El Paso said explicitly that Delta was merely acting as security for a US Marshals' operation.
  • All that said, given that every act done by Matt and his people was ultimately done to assist the apparently resurging Medellin cartel (which hasn't existed since 1993 in Real Life), a flagrantly and outlandishly illegal scheme in any case, that illegality would infect all prior events leading to it.
    • Politicians aren't exactly known for considering the long-term consequences.
  • Bear in mind, as well, that the shooting did not take place even inside the United States: it took place on the International Bridge, right outside of the Mexican checkpoint (which, as the border between the US and Mexico runs right down the center of the Rio Grande, puts the shooting on the Mexican side of the border), very close to civilians, with unclear rules of engagement (essentially declared on the spot, as far as Emily Blunt's character could determine), and no follow-up to the shooting (abandoning the vehicles and casualties and running back into the US, with no coordination with Mexican authorities). If the shooting was declared legal, it would have to be done at a level much higher than what was technically afforded the operation, and with a very loose interpretation of the rules. In other words, while it might be a 'clean' shoot, it would only be so after considerable 'scrubbing.' Even the operators can be heard over the radio discussing the validity of the shoot, and deciding not to worry about it.
• Why would you hide dead bodies in the walls of a house? The house is in a neighborhood surrounded by desert, why not take them out there and bury them? What were they planning on doing when the neighbors started knocking at the door complaining about the smell?
  • Chalk it up to the cartels not caring one whit about the collateral damage they cause. They could just abandon the house or rig it to blow (which they did—a shed at least). Or just kill anyone who comes by that might cause trouble. Or burying that many people in the desert would have eventually attracted unwanted attention.
  • Or they were just planning to abandon the place eventually. Wouldn't matter if anyone noticed anything long after they'd left.
  • It is possible that Matt and/or Alejandro put the bodies there. We know how manipulative they are and they likely had little trouble getting a house, plenty of dead bodies, and two mooks to guard it. Nor does it seem likely they’d be too worried about the mooks getting killed in the process and knew that the collateral damage of police officer deaths would motivate the FBI to start the task force which they “assisted” on.
    • Seems like something they might do in general, but in this particular case, that would have alerted the cartel (Manuel Díaz and Fausto Alarcón) that there's a manipulative operation going on against them, and they might have been more careful.
• How exactly was Kate a bait for Teddy if their meeting was most definitely accidental?
  • Although Matt did know that Kate would probably get into some kind of trouble when she got her face captured on camera on the bank, he didn't know that it would be a cop of all people. So he had Kate shadowed and stepped in when it became clear who was going after her. That it turned out to be someone she met that night was mere happenstance and Matt tells Kate to just go with it in her report.
• Did Reggie just tag along on a shady CIA operation near the Mexican border? And he carries his tactical gear in the trunk of his car just like that?
  • Law enforcement officers do have their own "war bags" that contain tactical gear and yes, they'd keep that equipment handy. Even if you consider it a stretch to keep his equipment in the trunk, bear in mind he was already involved in an op for several days and was simply prepared to move quickly.
  • Additionally, Reggie and Kate are both SWAT-qualified Agents with the FBI: police officers and agents with SWAT qualifications (whether full time operators or 'part-time' operators) often carry SWAT gear with them, due to the operational demands of the work. Any minute, they could be called up or ordered to report to an incident, and so they have to keep that gear on hand.
• Why the hell didn't Matt bench Kate after her run-in with the dirty cop? She was already questioning things and not following orders or advice. Her actions could've blown the whole thing (as in she could've shot Alejandro if she hadn't hesitated). All Matt had to do was ask for another liaison because his current one was compromised and in danger and it would've been done. He would've been entirely justified in doing it too.
  • Time. Getting another agent would require another vetting process and more time to debrief them. Also, it would require putting on the record the reason for the reassignment, as in what are they doing that Kate has such a problem with? The higher ups might be giving Matt a lot of leeway, but the whole process risks raising enough of a stink to derail the whole operation's timetable.
• If Manuel Díaz was being tracked through GPS, why did Alejandro attack Alarcón on the same night?
  • Maybe because Alarcón might move between several houses. In the scene where Alejandro gets water, his friend tells him to act quickly because soon everybody will change locations.
• When shots were being heard in the tunnel, why did Silvio unload the drugs instead of fleeing? If he didn't want to get caught with drugs during a brief escape drive, isn't that unlikely and not as bad as getting shot? Isn't aborting the delivery during a raid more normal than leaving the drugs to the raiders?
  • If he escapes without unloading the drugs, now he's driving around with drugs that belong to the cartel. Cartels don't care about extenuating circumstances when you make off with their product without their permission.
• Why did Manuel Díaz travel alone, without any bodyguards that he or Fausto Alarcón trusted? Alarcón trusted two groups of men to guard his house and to wave-in Díaz. Why not send one of those groups to protect Díaz from bringing along trouble?
  • A very valuable credential to have in a cartel operation is the ability to legally cross the border at will. Diaz has those credentials and it's hard to keep up that cover if you're traveling around with armed security. Also, this meeting with Alarcón wasn't meant to be high risk; it was just for Alarcón to ask why Diaz's operations aren't going well, maybe dress him down a bit. As far as Alarcón was concerned, there wasn't a need to make a big production of it.
• Why did only Alejandro go to intercept Manuel Díaz, whereas all others who were in the tunnel returned? If the others weren't allowed to stay in Mexico, why was Alejandro, and why didn't they bring more people who were allowed? More people would have better chances at raiding a drug lord's guarded mansion.
  • It's easier to insert and extract one man. It also gives the CIA plausible deniability; Alejandro is literally a hitman working for another cartel.
• Why did the last gangster in the traffic jam try to shoot Kate and not some of the guys who had been shooting? What was his goal anyway, how did he expect to win against a dozen of armed people?
  • The cartel did not expect any of their people to survive the hit once completed. They most likely gave incomplete orders to each team. The guys in the car were told to attack the escorts while the corrupt or fake Federale was told to take out the target in the vehicle during the firefight and make his escape. For the most part, the plan was working: the deltas dismounted to address the gunmen in the cars, leaving Guillermo vulnerable to attack from the rear. Where it went wrong was that the gunmen didn't commit to the attack fast enough before getting neutralized and the assassin picked the wrong car to shoot.