🍷 Have you tried my wine yet?: https://yt.franzesewine.com/ 💪🏼 Join Franzese Family: https://michaelfranzese.com/family/ I’ve sat with mob bosses, cartel associates, and killers, but I have never been this educated on the Mexican cartels as I was in this sit down with DEA legend Mike Vigil. Mike spent 31 years with the DEA, rose to chief of international operations, worked undercover across Latin America, and has gone head‑to‑head with cartels from Colombia to Mexico. ​ In this interview he breaks down how groups like CJNG and Sinaloa really operate, what changed after El Mencho was taken out, and why retaliation spread across multiple Mexican states. He explains “terror schools,” disappearances, paramilitary tactics, and why killing one kingpin often makes the violence even worse. ​ We also get into something I’ve said for years: the mafia I was part of is not on the same level as today’s cartels – not in scale, not in weapons, not in how they treat civilians. If you care about what’s happening in Mexico, travel safety, the drug trade, or just want an honest look from someone who’s been on the front lines, watch this one from beginning to end. ​ Former Mob Boss Interviews DEA Legend: Inside the Mexican Cartels DEA Legend Reveals the Most Disturbing Cartel Rituals You’ve Never Heard Of 🤝 Book 1 on 1 Call With Me: https://michaelfranzese.com/book-1-on-1-call/ 🔥 Check out my store: https://store.michaelfranzese.com/ 🎙️ Michael Franzese Podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Eo39qb 📧 Interested in partnerships? partnerships@michaelfranzese.com 00:00 – Introduction – El Mencho’s terror schools 01:05 – Who is Mike Vigil? 01:54 – Are cartels like the Mafia? 03:13 – Why Americans visiting Mexico should listen 04:26 – Mike’s thoughts about the cartels and the Mafia 06:09 – How cartels react when leaders fall 07:33 – City sealed off, buses burned, planes hit 07:58 – El Mencho backlash across 12 states 09:10 – How long violence lasts, fragmentation risk 11:02 – The targeting of American tourists 11:40 – How Mexican military really found El Mencho 13:30 – Special forces raid and heavy firefight 15:34 – El Mencho’s secret clinic, disease and bounties 16:40 – Kingpin strategy created more cartel violence 17:20 – Terror schools: fake jobs, mountain camps 0:00 – Cannibal initiation: “eat it or de” 0:37 – Cuting open rival, eating heart 0:49 – “No body, no crime” and pozoleros 19:21 – How cartels became a paramilitary army 19:32 – Why demand and U.S. guns fuel cartels 10:30 – What needs to change to stop them 56:41 – Mike advises U.S. tourists to delay 58:47 – My reaction to cannibalism and brutality 59:01 – Why I say cartels are paramilitary 59:20 – America empower’s cartels with drugs and guns Backbone Media Group