Missing Mob Wives? VH1’s Cartel Crew might be the cure
By Mads Lennon
Cartel Crew is a brand new VH1 reality show chronicling the lives of cartel member descendants and how their lives have been impacted by drug trafficking. The premise is not unlike Mob Wives featuring women with alleged blood ties to the American Mafia.
If you’re like me and watched Mob Wives every time it was on, then you should consider checking out VH1’s latest reality show, Cartel Crew.
The series stars the grown children of cartel members like the son of the notorious Griselda Blanco a.k.a. the Cocaine Godmother. Michael Corleone Blanco and his wife Marie Ramirez De Arellano, who also has familial ties to drug traffickers. Together, the two of them are attempting to jump-start a business called “Pure Blanco,” a clothing line with Griselda’s images. Blanco wants to change the image of his family as he himself has served time in jail and only got on the right track after his mother died.
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Kat “Tatu Baby” Flores is also a cast member along with her friend Stephanie Acevedo. While their families don’t have the same pedigree as the Blancos, they both frequently discuss how cartel connections with their families have effected their lives.
The father of Kat’s son is currently serving time in jail for drug-related crimes. As her name would suggest, Kat has found her passion in tattoos as she tries to steer clear of the dangerous lifestyle she was raised in, creating problems between her and her ex.
Like Mob Wives, everyone on Cartel Crew claims to want to establish themselves outside their criminal backgrounds but they address their narco affiliations with a point of pride. It’s a complicated relationship but each cast-mate has goals, dreams, and business plans they wish to achieve over the duration of the season.
Mob Wives was also known for being extremely dramatic, with many of the wives threatening violence, throwing drinks, or packing a punch. Cartel Crew promises to have similar blow-outs with one already occurring in the premiere episode between Marie, Stephanie, and Kat, vs. Nicole Zavala and her brother Michael, a supposed cartel baby whose refusal to spill secrets makes everyone suspicious of her history.
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Two other castmates: Carlos “Loz” Oliveros, who stepped away from his criminal dealings when one of his family members wound up murdered, and Dayana Castellanos, a prior marijuana dealer who served two years in prison, weren’t in the show’s premiere episode but appear in the trailer as later additions to the season.
A new episode of Cartel Crew airs Monday, January 14.