VH1
‘Cartel Crew’ Star Michael Blanco Breaks Down in Tears Over Pressure to Succeed
She’s his ride or die! Cartel Crew stars Michael Corleone Blanco and Marie Ramirez De Arellano may get into fights like any other couple, but at the end of the day, they’ll always have each other’s back. In an In Touch exclusive sneak peek for tonight’s episode, Michael and Marie reconnected during a heart-to-heart, and he broke down in tears while opening up about the pressure he feels to make sure his new marijuana business succeeds.
“Baby, I just became part of an empire. So now, it’s time to run with it. You thought I was working hard before? Now you’re gonna see what working hard is,” Michael, 41, told Marie during the couple’s ice cream date. “When I see those six zeros and two digits next to them, I’ll be like, ‘Alright. I got my swagger back.’”
Marie, 32, asked Michael what would happen if it doesn’t happen, but Michael didn’t want to hear it. He went on to explain that he feels a lot of pressure to live up to his family’s name as the only living son of the notorious Griselda Blanco, a.k.a the Cocaine Godmother of the Colombian drug cartel.
“I’m not stopping, I’m here. My whole life, all I wanted to be was successful,” Michael said. “They took away my future, they took away my family. Success is the best revenge, I’ma do this s—t. You gotta understand, everything I do, it’s not only for my family here, it’s so my mom and my brother could look down and be like, ‘Yo, he figured it out.’”
Michael explained that he works hard because he wants to pay his late mother back for leaving him her storied legacy, and he also wanted to repay his brothers for their sacrifices. “They gave their lives to the game,” Michael said, breaking down in tears. “You know? Who lost it all? And I buried them.”
Marie got up to console her man. “Papi, you gotta understand that your family’s legacy has nothing but grief right now to you. And I don’t want to see you like this till you’re 80 years old. I just want you to be in peace with yourself, my love. And be happy with where you’re at right now,” she told him.
After a pep talk from his girl, Michael pulled himself together. “We got this,” he told her as he gave her a sweet kiss. “Thanks for always being there for me.”
Cartel Crew airs on VH1 Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
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