Cartel Thriller ‘American Sicario’ Adds ‘Machete’ Star Danny Trejo

VMI Worldwide has picked up the film and will be presenting at the upcoming virtual American Film Market.

Machete star Danny Trejo has signed on to join action cartel thriller American Sicario, which VMI Worldwide has picked up and will be presenting at the upcoming virtual American Film Market.

The film is set to tell the true story of Edgar Valdez Villarreal, also known as La Barbie (The Barbie), a Mexican-American drug lord and a high-ranking lieutenant of the now disbanded Beltrán Leyva Cartel. Valdez is currently serving a 49-year prison sentence at USP Coleman II in Florida.

Philippe Haddad will be starring as Villarreal, with Trejo set to play Pedro, the father of the drug lord’s partner Gloria, who will be played by Cali Morales. Maurice Compte, Maya Stojan, Dionysio Basco and Jaylen Moore makeup the rest of the ensemble for American Sicario, which has now started shooting in Nevada.

edgar-valdez-villarreal
Edgar Valdez Villarreal – Image via Daniel Aguilar/Getty Images

Veteran film producer Raja Collins marks his his directorial debut from a script penned by Rich Ronat, writer of Grand Isle, starring Nicolas Cage and Rising Hawk starring Robert Patrick. The film will be produced by GFG Entertainment with Ross Campbell, Maurice Compte and Raja Collins serving as the lead Producers. Philippe Haddad, Rigan Machado, Jaylen Moore, Brian Walker and Glen Barensfeld are serving as Executive Producers.

The acquisition was brokered by Jessica Bennett of VMI and Raja Collins.

“Once I heard this amazing true story, I knew this movie was the one for me to helm, especially because the film is from the perspective of a real life Cartel boss,” said Collins. “Philippe pitched it to me, and we knew Trejo was the right fit, along with Maurice and the entire cast. We teamed up with VMI Worldwide and couldn’t be more excited for this film to come out.”

Added Andre Relis, CEO of VMI Worldwide: “We had a great experience working with Raja on producing Grand Isle and couldn’t turn down the opportunity to support him on his directorial debut. The true story is yet to be explored and the script serves a bountiful amount of action.”

Must Read