‘Cartel Crew’ Stars Michael And Marie Address Haters Who Claim They’re ‘Glorifying’ Organized Crime

They’re shutting down their haters! VH1’s newest docuseries Cartel Crew exposes the lives of adults who grew up as children of various players in the Colombian drug ring. One of the breakout stars from the Cartel Crew cast is Michael Corleone Blanco — the son of Griselda Blanco, aka “The Cocaine Godmother” — and his girlfriend Marie Ramirez De Arellano, and they exclusively revealed to In Touch that their main goal on the show is to showcase their struggle to move on from their cartel affiliations. But even though they’re trying to share a positive view on those who grew up in the lifestyle, there are some haters who accused them of glorifying the illegal drug trade on their show — and Micahel and Marie have a very clear message for the naysayers.

“To open their minds up, don’t just assume that we’re over here trying to glorify something — we’re not,” Marie told In Touch about what she would like to say to the haters. “We’re just trying to make a name for ourselves outside that world and leave that world behind.”

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Michael explained that even though all of the cast members are affiliated with the cartel lifestyle, that they are just normal people trying to get by.

“Basically, we are showing the world that as far as the humanizing level, we’re people in society. What do you do in society? You have a job to feed your family, to pay your bills. I’m not glorifying the era, I’m exposing an era that if I was to hide it, it wouldn’t be right because it wouldn’t be historically correct,” Michael told In Touch, comparing the show to the infamous Italian mafia crime family The Gottis did with their 2004 reality series, Growing Up Gotti. “I’m, in a way, using these entertainment factors to embrace it. Showing that it could be legal, showing the character behind the villain, the humanizing of the people. Marie and I, we’re regular people. We’re just trying to live the American Dream.”