When a drug kingpin murders his family, ex-Mexican Federale Machete (Danny Trejo) is a broken man. Hiding out in Texas, where he scratches a living doing odd jobs, Machete is approached by shady businessman Michael Booth (Jeff Fahey) who wants him to assassinate local senator, and anti-immigration advocate, John McLaughlin (Robert De Niro). Agreeing under extreme duress, Machete is set up during the mission and badly wounded; the heat from assassination attempt making him the most-wanted man in the state. As he's hunted by Booth and immigration agent Sartana Rivera (Jessica Alba), Machete begins to fight back hard as he goes head-to-head with corrupt politicians, cut-throats and immigration-obsessed bigots, on a path that will lead him to finally face the drug lord who killed his family, Rogelio Torrez (Steven Seagal).