On January 25, Netflix launched the limited series Griselda, featuring Sofia Vergara as the main character. The six-episode series is based on the life of Griselda Blanco, a real-life drug trafficker and murderer who led a cocaine cartel in the 1970s and 1980s. Her criminal prowess and viciousness earned her the monikers “Godmother of Cocaine” and “Black Widow.” Vergara, recognized for her comedic abilities on Modern Family and judging America’s Got Talent, was offered the opportunity to portray a complicated and dark role.
Who Was Griselda Blanco?
Griselda Blanco began criminal activity at a young age in her home Colombia and eventually established a drug trafficking empire in the United States. Blanco’s street smarts and ruthlessness—she’s been linked to as many as hundreds of murders, including her husbands—aided her in distributing cocaine from Miami to southern California in the 1970s and 1980s. Her illegal activity earned her the nicknames “Queen of Cocaine” and “Godmother of Cocaine.” After years of investigation, Blanco was captured by federal investigators in 1985 and sentenced to nearly two decades in prison on drug trafficking and murder charges. She was assassinated at the age of 69 in her native Colombia in 2012.
Early Life
Griselda Blanco Restrepo was born on February 15, 1943 in Colombia. Many accounts state that she was born in Cartagena, while some say it was in Santa Marta. Blanco’s mother, an alcoholic sex worker, moved to Medellín when she was about 3 years old. The young girl may have been abused by her mother’s clients.
Blanco began a life of crime at a young age. When she was 11, she allegedly helped kidnap a 10-year-old boy from a rich family in Medellín. When the family refused to pay the ransom, Blanco allegedly shot the kidnapped youngster. She also allegedly became a thief and sex worker.
Becoming The “Queen of Cocaine”
Blanco’s second husband, Albert Bravo, was a drug trafficker who introduced her to the trade. She began trafficking marijuana but quickly moved to cocaine, which was easier to handle. Blanco had female couriers wear bras and girdles with hidden pockets to transport the narcotic into the United States.
Blanco’s role in the distribution of Colombian cocaine in New York City garnered the attention of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Blanco and more than 30 of her associates were charged on federal narcotics conspiracy charges in April 1975 as part of Operation Banshee, a large-scale investigation. Blanco, on the other hand, managed to avoid capture by fleeing to Colombia.
By the late 1970s, Blanco had moved to Miami. She built a vast narcotics organization, reportedly trafficking 3,400 pounds of cocaine every month. She also resorted to violence to maintain her position as a drug kingpin. Blanco would kill people to avoid paying them money she owed, because they owed her money, or because she believed they had humiliated her.
Blanco is credited for fine-tuning the murder tactic by having hired murderers commit drive-by killings on motorbikes, allowing the assassins to flee the scene. According to the 2014 book Drugs in American Society, she was responsible for the majority of South Florida’s homicides between 1979 and 1981. She was also responsible for the 1982 death of a 2-year-old who was an unintentional casualty in her attempted takedown of a rival.
Blanco was dubbed “La Madrina (the godmother),” “Cocaine Queen,” “Godmother of Cocaine,” and “Queen of Cocaine” by fans. She evaded law enforcement for years by dyeing her hair, losing or gaining weight, or using one of several names. Blanco was eventually traced down by the DEA after she went to California in 1984. In February 1985, she was arrested in Irvine, a city south of Los Angeles.
Conviction and Prison
Blanco’s trial in New York in June and July 1985 resulted in a conviction on one count of conspiracy to produce, bring into the United States, and distribute cocaine. She was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. During her captivity, she allegedly plotted to kidnap John F. Kennedy Jr. to obtain her freedom.
Blanco was sent back to Miami as a federal inmate to face murder accusations. She faced the death penalty, but the case against her was derailed by an unusual turn of circumstances. The prosecution’s key witness, Jorge “Rivi” Ayala, a former hitman for Blanco, had phone sex with secretaries in the state attorney’s office. Prosecutors eventually offered Blanco a deal, and in 1998, she pleaded guilty to three second-degree murder charges. She was released from prison in June 2004 and deported to Colombia.
Husbands and Sons
Blanco married three times and has four boys.
Her first husband, Carlos Trujillo, was a forger. She and Trujillo have three sons: Dixon, Uber, and Osvaldo. Despite their divorce in the late 1960s, Blanco is suspected of ordering Trujillo’s death in the early 1970s.
Blanco killed her second husband, Alberto Bravo, in a shooting outside Bogotá, Colombia, in 1975, after they had worked together as drug trafficking partners. She felt Bravo had been taking from her. This earned Blanco another nickname, “Black Widow.”
Blanco and her third husband, Dario Sepulveda, had one more son, Michael Corleone. He was called after a figure played by Al Pacino in the Godfather films. In 1983, Sepulveda was assassinated in Medellín by men posing as police officers. Blanco was also accused of having ordered his death.
Blanco’s three oldest boys continued in her footsteps. Dixon, Uber, and Osvaldo were drug traffickers who were all sentenced to federal prison at the same time as their mother. Following their release from prison, they returned to Colombia. Uber and Osvaldo were slaughtered there, much as Griselda would be in 2012. According to some sources, Dixon may still be alive or have outlived his mother, despite reports of his death.
Michael Corleone was arrested for cocaine trafficking in 2011. Fox News reported that his probation for these crimes terminated in 2018. He has starred on VH1’s Cartel Crew, which follows the children and grandchildren of drug traffickers, and founded Pure Blanco, a clothing and lifestyle business.
Death
Blanco, 69, was murdered on September 3, 2012, in Medellín, Colombia. According to reports, Blanco was shot by a shooter on a motorcycle after leaving a butcher store. This was reminiscent of the drive-by murder approach she had employed to gain control of the drug trade in Miami.
After Blanco’s death, officials estimated she was responsible for 40 homicides. Some felt she was responsible for up to 250 deaths. Blanco is interred at Jardines Montesacro Cemetery. Pablo Escobar, her nemesis and fellow drug boss, is also buried here.
Net Worth
Blanco’s net monthly revenue at the height of her trafficking triumph was $80 million. Her net worth is reported to be as high as $2 billion. She owned a house in Miami and flew in a private plane.
Blanco did not live a similarly opulent lifestyle when she returned to Colombia from prison. She did, however, continue to live in an expensive gated community and own real properties when she died.