Griselda Blanco
Mugshot of Blanco in 1997
Born
Griselda Blanco Restrepo

(1943-02-14)February 14, 1943
Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia[1]
DiedSeptember 3, 2012(2012-09-03) (aged 69)
Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
Other namesLa Dama de la Mafia (The Lady of the Mafia)
The Godmother
The Black Widow
Spouses
  • Zulma Andino Trujillo
  • Alberto Bravo
  • Darío Sepúlveda
Children4 sons
Conviction(s)Federal
Conspiracy to manufacture, import into the United States, and distribute cocaine ( 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 963)
Florida
Second degree murder (3 counts)
Criminal penaltyFederal
15 years imprisonment
Florida
20 years imprisonment

Griselda Blanco Restrepo[2] (February 14, 1943 – September 3, 2012), known as the Black Widow or Cocaine Godmother, was a Colombian drug lord who was prominent in the cocaine-based drug trade and underworld of Miami, Florida, during the 1970s through the early 2000s, and who has also been claimed by some to have been part of the Medellín Cartel.[3][4][5] Blanco was assassinated in Medellín on September 3, 2012, aged 69.[6]

Early life

Griselda Blanco Restrepo was born in Santa Marta, Colombia on the country's north coast. She and her mother, Ana Blanco,[7] moved to Medellín when she was three years old, and this move exposed her to a criminal lifestyle at an early age. Blanco's former lover, Charles Cosby, recounted that at the age of 11 she allegedly kidnapped, attempted to ransom, and eventually shot a child from an upscale flatland neighborhood near her own neighborhood.[1][8][9] Blanco had become a pickpocket before she even turned 13. To escape the sexual abuse of her mother's boyfriend, she ran away from home at the age of 19 and resorted to stealing in Medellín until the age of 20.[1][8] It is also speculated that she engaged in prostitution to support herself financially during this time, although Blanco denied this allegation.[10][11]

Drug business

Blanco was a key figure in the establishment of the cocaine trade between Colombia and large American cities like Miami and New York, and to dealers in California.

In 1964, she illegally immigrated to the United States under an assumed name and with fake papers, settling in Queens, New York with her three children and husband. She quickly set up a thriving drug operation, and in April 1975, she was indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges along with thirty of her subordinates. After fleeing back to Colombia to avoid conviction, she returned to the United States and transferred her operation to Miami in the late 1970s.

Her return more or less coincided with the beginning of public violent conflicts, including hundreds of murders and killings yearly associated with the high crime epidemic that swept the City of Miami in the 1980s. The struggle by law enforcement to put an end to the influx of cocaine into Miami led to the creation of CENTAC 26 (Central Tactical Unit), a joint operation between the Miami-Dade Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) anti-drug operation.[12][13]

Blanco was involved in the drug-related violence known as the Miami Drug War or the Cocaine Cowboy Wars that plagued Miami in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was a period when cocaine was trafficked more than cannabis.[14]

The distribution network, which spanned the United States, earned $80 million per month.[1]

Arrest

On February 17, 1985, Blanco was arrested in her home by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and charged with conspiring to manufacture, import, and distribute cocaine. The case went to trial in federal court in New York City where she was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years.[15]

While serving her sentence, she was additionally charged with three counts of first-degree murder by the state of Florida. The prosecution made a deal with one of Blanco's most trusted hitmen, Jorge Ayala, who agreed to testify that she had ordered him to carry out the killings. However, the case collapsed due to technicalities relating to a phone sex scandal between Ayala and two female secretaries who worked in the state attorney’s office.[16] In 1998, Blanco pleaded guilty to three counts of second degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, to run concurrently.[17] In 2002, Blanco, a lifelong smoker who had struggled with her weight, suffered a heart attack in prison.[18]

In 2004, in light of her continuing health issues, she was granted compassionate release from prison and deported to Medellín, where she lived a quiet life. Before her murder in 2012, she was last seen in May 2007 at the Bogotá Airport.[1]

Personal life

Blanco had four husbands and four children over the course of her life. She and her first husband, Carlos Trujillo, had three sons together in Medellín, all born before Blanco turned 21.[1]

Blanco had her youngest son, Michael Corleone Blanco (named after the homonymous character), with her third husband, Darío Sepúlveda.[5] Sepúlveda left her in 1983, returned to Colombia, and kidnapped Michael when he and Blanco disagreed over who would have custody. Blanco paid to have Sepúlveda assassinated in Colombia, and her son returned to her in the US.[19]

According to the Miami New Times, "Michael's father and older siblings were all killed before he reached adulthood. His mother was in prison for most of his childhood and teenage years, and he was raised by his maternal grandmother and legal guardians."[19] In 2012, Michael was put under house arrest after a sentencing on two felony counts of cocaine trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine.[20] He appeared on a 2018 episode of the Investigation Discovery documentary series, Evil Lives Here, to recount his lonely childhood. In 2019, he was featured in the VH1 docuseries Cartel Crew, which follows the descendants of drug lords. He also runs a clothing brand, "Puro Blanco."[5][21][22][23][24]

According to Michael, his mother became a born-again Christian in her later years.[25]

Death

On September 3, 2012, an elderly Blanco and her pregnant daughter-in-law bought $150 worth of meat at the Cardiso butcher shop on the corner of 29th Street in Medellín. As she exited, an assassin on a motorcycle shot her twice, killing her.[5][26] The drive-by motorcycle shooting mimicked the same assassination style that Blanco was often credited with introducing to Miami during her drug reign.[10][27]

Blanco has been featured in multiple documentaries, series, films, and songs, including several forthcoming projects, including:

  • She features prominently in the documentary films Cocaine Cowboys (2006) and Cocaine Cowboys 2 (2008; also written as Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin' With the Godmother).
  • In 2010, Florida rapper Jacki-O released a mixtape "La Madrina - Griselda Blanco".
  • She is portrayed by the Colombian actress Luces Velásquez in 2012 television series Pablo Escobar, The Drug Lord as the character of Graciela Rojas.
  • In 2012, American rapper Westside Gunn formed a record label called Griselda Records, naming it after Blanco.
  • In the 2012 Meek Mill song “Believe It,” Rick Ross states, “Rest in peace Griselda Blanco.”
  • In Nicki Minaj's unofficial 2019 remix of DaBaby's "Suge (song)," Minaj references Blanco in her opening line.
  • In a television biographical film Cocaine Godmother, which premiered in 2018 on the Lifetime channel, Blanco is portrayed by Catherine Zeta-Jones.[28][29]
  • Blanco is portrayed by the Colombian-American actress Sofia Vergara in the 2023 Netflix limited series titled Griselda,[30] the series is set to be released on Netflix on January 25, 2024.[31]
  • "Griselda Blanco", a song by Toronto Drill rappers Pengz and Two Two, was certified Platinum in Canada.[32]
  • "Griselda Blanco," appears in Marlon James' Booker Prize Winning 2014 novel A Brief History of Seven Killings.
  • Korean-Canadian rapper Paul Blanco created his stage name after Griselda Blanco, following Chicago drill rappers' trend of having drug lord rap names.[33]
  • In 2018, French rappers Booba and Maes composed a song entitled “Madrina”, referring to the famous drug trafficker

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brown, Ethan (July 2008). "Searching for the Godmother of Crime". Maxim. Alpha Media Group: 94–98. ISSN 1092-9789. Archived from the original on June 14, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Comienza extinción de dominio a bienes de Griselda Blanco en Antioquia – RCN Radio". RCN Radio (in European Spanish). September 9, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Griselda Blanco". Biography. March 3, 2021.
  4. ↑ "The life and death of 'cocaine mother' Griselda Blanco". Miami Herald.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Luscombe, Richard (September 4, 2012). "'Godmother of cocaine' shot dead in Colombia". The Guardian. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  6. ↑ ""Cocaine mother" Griselda Blanco gunned down in Colombia". miamiherald.com. September 3, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Her mother's name". Semana (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Corben, Billy (director); Cosby, Charles (himself); Blanco, Griselda (herself) (July 29, 2008). Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin' with the Godmother (DVD). Magnolia Home Entertainment. ASIN B00180R03Q. UPC 876964001366. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  9. ↑ Cosby, Charles. "Charles Cosby: From Early Childhood to Cocaine and Hustlin'". The Blog Union.
  10. 1 2 Smith, Jennie Erin (2013). Cocaine Cowgirl: The Outrageous Life and Mysterious Death of Griselda Blanco, the Godmother of Medellin. Byliner Inc. ISBN 978-1-61452-087-0.
  11. ↑ LaSala, Francine (2002). Mistresses of mayhem: the book of women criminals. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha. p. 31. ISBN 978-0965047227.
  12. ↑ Gugliotta, Guy; Leen, Jeff (July 16, 2011). Kings of Cocaine: Inside the Medellín Cartel – An Astonishing True Story of Murder, Money and International Corruption. Garrett County Press. ISBN 9781891053344. Retrieved June 19, 2016 – via Google Books.
  13. ↑ "Griselda Blanco: hasta nunca y gracias por la coca". VICE – España. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  14. ↑ Corben, Billy (director); Roberts, Jon (actor); Sunshine, Al (actor); Burstyn, Sam (actor); Munday, Mickey (actor); Palumbo, Bob (actor) (January 23, 2007). Cocaine Cowboys (DVD). Magnolia Home Entertainment. ASIN B000KLQUUS. UPC 876964000635. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  15. ↑ "United States v Blanco". Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Secretaries Suspended Over Phone Sex". AP NEWS. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  17. ↑ "The Incredible Story of Colombia's 'Godmother of Cocaine'". Business Insider.
  18. ↑ Lathem, Niles (June 8, 2000). "QUEENS NOW RULE WHERE KINGPINS ONCE REIGNED: WOMEN ARE RUNNING DRUG RINGS AFTER FALL OF COLOMBIAN CARTELS". New York Post.
  19. 1 2 Alvarado, Francisco (October 13, 2011). "Michael Corleone Blanco lives in the shadow of his cocaine-queen mother". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  20. ↑ Alvarado, Francisco (September 5, 2012). "Griselda Blanco's Son Michael Corleone Still Faces Cocaine Trafficking Charge in Miami". Miami New Times. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  21. ↑ Pablo Escobar and Colombian Narcoculture by Aldona Bialowas Pobutsky, 163-164
  22. ↑ Swartz, James A. Substance Abuse in America: A Documentary and Reference Guide. p. 193.
  23. ↑ Hornberger, Francine. Mistresses of mayhem: the book of female criminals. p. 32.
  24. ↑ Morton, James. The Mammoth Book of Gangs.
  25. ↑ "'Cocaine Cowboys' Griselda Blanco, Real-Life 'Female Tony Montana', Gunned Down in Colombia". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  26. ↑ Robles, Frances; Bargent, James (September 5, 2012). "The life and death of 'cocaine mother' Griselda Blanco". Miami Herald.
  27. ↑ Luscombe, Richard (September 4, 2012). "'Godmother of cocaine' shot dead in Colombia". The Guardian.
  28. ↑ Evans, Greg (May 18, 2017). "Lifetime Greenlights 'Cocaine Godmother' Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  29. ↑ Brown, Scott (June 6, 2017). "Hollywood North: Catherine Zeta-Jones filming 'Cocaine Godmother' in Vancouver". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  30. ↑ Strause, Jackie; Goldberg, Lesley (November 3, 2021). "Sofia Vergara to Star in 'Griselda' Limited Series at Netflix From 'Narcos' Team". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  31. ↑ Urban, Sasha (September 21, 2023). "'Griselda' Trailer Unveils Sofia Vergara as Notorious Colombian Drug Queenpin; Netflix Sets Release Date". Variety. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Canadian certifications – Pengz, Two Two – Griselda Blanco". Music Canada. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  33. ↑ [한글자막] 폴블랑코에게 97년생이 맞냐고 묻다, retrieved September 10, 2023

Sources

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