He was a member of Villa's elite cavalry troops and bodyguards known as Los Dorados (The Golden Ones).
At the request of then president Miguel Alemán Valdés, he was considering running for the governor's seat in his home state of Durango.
As a teenager he traveled to Victoria de Durango, the state capital, to continue his studies.
In early 1910, Vargas became involved with revolutionary figures Cástulo Herrera and Guillermo Baca in the state of Chihuahua.
On November 20, 1910, he raised arms against the government of Porfirio Díaz on orders from Francisco I. Madero and Abraham González, who at the time was governor of Chihuahua.