The film is based on the eponymous autobiography by Robert Mazur, a U.S. Customs special agent, who in the 1980s helped bust Pablo Escobar's money-laundering organization by going undercover as a corrupt businessman.

[4] The film stars Bryan Cranston as Mazur, with Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt, John Leguizamo, Saïd Taghmaoui, Joe Gilgun and Amy Ryan in supporting roles.

During the 1980s, U.S. Customs Service special agent Robert Mazur uses his undercover alias "Bob Musella" to become a pivotal player for drug lords laundering their dirty cash.

Later, he infiltrates the world's largest cartel, and helps expose the money-laundering organization of drug lord Pablo Escobar[5] and take down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), which had secretly taken illegal ownership of First American Bankshares in Washington, D.C..

[9] On March 10, 2015, additional cast members were chosen, including John Leguizamo, Amy Ryan, Olympia Dukakis, Elena Anaya, and Juliet Aubrey.

The website's critical consensus reads, "The Infiltrator's compelling fact-based story and tremendously talented cast are often just enough to balance out its derivative narrative and occasionally clunky execution.