Left: Griselda Blanco poses for a photo as shown in the 2006 ‘Cocaine Cowboys’ ; Right: Griselda Blanco’s mugshot.Photo:AJ Pics / Alamy ; Archive PL / Alamy
AJ Pics / Alamy ; Archive PL / Alamy
Griselda Blanco, known as the “Cocaine Godmother,” La Madrina (“The Godmother”), La Jefa (“The Boss”) and The Black Widow, was a ruthless cocaine queenpin whose reign in Colombia lasted nearly five decades.
She was also reportedly so proud of her lifestyle that she even named one of her four sons after the legendary fictional gangster Michael Corleone.
“I don’t think the fact that she was a female trying to prove something had anything to do with her violent behavior; I just think it was inherent to Griselda Blanco. This goes back to her life, the way she was brought up. She was just a violent person,” former DEA agent Bob Palombo, who investigated Griselda for years, toldMaximin 2008.
After learning the ropes of the business in New York City, she became a key player in the drug scene in the ’70s in Miami, which also involvedPablo Escobar. While rumors swirled of a possible mentor-mentee relationship between them, he reportedly feared Griselda. “The only man I was ever afraid of was a woman named Griselda Blanco,” Escobar allegedly said, perBBC.
The legends and myths about the Cocaine Godmother are nearly endless, but there is a lot to learn about her life and crimes. Here’s everything to know about Griselda Blanco, including her rise to power, family and death.
Who was Griselda Blanco?
Grisleda Blanco poses next to a cake.Michael Corleone Blanco Instagram
Michael Corleone Blanco Instagram
Griselda Blanco was born in Cartagena, Colombia, on Feb. 15, 1943, according to the Spanish newspaperEl País. She moved to Medellín, Colombia, with her mom during her early years.
Griselda’s life of crime started at a young age. When she was 11, Griselda reportedly kidnapped a young boy and killed him when his wealthy parents didn’t pay the ransom, perVice. According to the outlet, the following year, she turned to prostitution and pickpocketing. As a 13 year old, she lived with an alleged pimp and document forger, Carlos Trujillo, who became her first husband.
Griselda and Trujillo had three sons, but the marriage didn’t last. PerVice, the couple had disagreements over their burgeoning criminal empire, leading Griselda to divorce Trujillo and later have him killed.
In the 1960s, she moved her family to Queens, New York, with her second husband, cocaine trafficker Alberto Bravo, covering up their criminal income through his clothing import company, according toVice. Griselda opened her own women’s lingerie factory in Colombia, which created garments with hidden pockets to smuggle drugs.
Griselda Blanco.GDA/AP
Fast forward to 1975, their illegal work was now known as the Alberto Bravo organization and when authorities came knocking, Griselda and Bravo were among the 150 people arrested, according toThe New York Times. The newspaper wrote that it was considered “the biggest Colombian narcotics organization ever uncovered.” They were eventually charged with conspiring to manufacture, smuggle and distribute cocaine in the U.S., according toCNN.
The indictment came after Griselda and Bravo fled from federal investigators back to Colombia, where they planned to continue their business. Once they were back, though, Griselda and Bravo reportedly got into a firefight. PerMaxim, she shot him to death and survived a bullet to the stomach. Afterward, Griselda took control of their entire cocaine operation.
In 1978, she married her third husband, Darío Sepúlveda, with whom she shared son Michael Corleone Blanco, named afterThe Godfathercharacter. The trio secretly returned to the U.S. and settled in Miami, Florida, the same year, where Griselda continued her reign over her cartel — as well as her seemingly endless rash of murders.
The most infamous slaying was the July 1979 shootout at the Dadeland Mall, in which two of Griselda’s hitmen murdered German Jimenez Panesso and his bodyguard, Juan Carlos Hernandez, and injured several others, according toNBC Miami. Panesso was reportedly involved in the Colombian drug trafficking trade.
What crimes did Griselda Blanco commit?
Griselda Blanco’s mugshots.Archive PL / Alamy ; Florida Dept. of Corrections/AP
Archive PL / Alamy ; Florida Dept. of Corrections/AP
While serving her federal sentence in New York, the state of Florida charged Griselda with three counts of first-degree murder. However, the case was thrown out after the prosecution’s star witness, Griselda’s henchman Jorge Ayala, had phone sex with the Miami-Dade County prosecutor’s secretaries, according toThe Tampa Bay Times.
Special prosecutors in Orlando took on the case in 1999, and Griselda pled guilty to two murders,The New York Postreported. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be served concurrently with her federal sentence of 15 years, perVice.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Schlessinger, who prosecuted Griselda, believes she committed and commissioned a lot more murders than the three with which she was charged.
“It would certainly be dozens. We have no idea here how many murders she authorized in Colombia,” Schlessinger toldThe Miami Herald. “She was a complete sociopath. She murdered people at the drop of a hat. She would kill anybody who displeased her, because of a debt, because they screwed up on a shipment, or she didn’t like the way they looked at her.”
Griselda was released from prison in 2004 and deported to Colombia, where she lived for the rest of her life.
Who were Griselda Blanco’s husbands?
Griselda Blanco’s third husband Darío Sepúlveda and their son Michael Corleone Blanco.Michael Corleone Blanco Instagram
Griselda married her first husband, Carlo Trujillo, as a teenager in Colombia. After they divorced, Griselda reportedly had Trujillo killed.
Griselda’s second husband, Alberto Bravo, helped her develop her cocaine empire in the U.S. and lived with her in Queens in the late 1960s. Upon learning that federal agents targeted them in an investigation in 1975, Griselda and Bravo left for Colombia, where they eventually shot each other in a dispute over their business — and only Griselda survived.
Griselda married her third husband, Darío Sepúlveda, in 1978. They welcomed their son, Michael Corleone Blanco, in Colombia that same year before quietly moving to Miami. According to theMiami New Times, Griselda had Sepúlveda killed in 1983. By that point, the couple were estranged after infidelity and a custody disagreement.
How did Griselda Blanco die?
Grisleda Blanco poses for a photo outdoors.Michael Corleone Blanco Instagram
“It’s surprising to all of us that she had not been killed sooner because she made a lot of enemies,” former Miami homicide detective Nelson Andreu said. “When you kill so many and hurt so many people like she did, it’s only a matter of time before they find you and try to even the score.”
She was reportedly with a pregnant daughter-in-law at the time, who was unharmed in the shooting.
How old was Griselda Blanco when she died?
The tomb of Griselda Blanco.Daniel Romero / VWPics / AP
Daniel Romero / VWPics / AP
Griselda was 69 years old when she was killed.The Miami Heraldreported that a daughter-in-law of hers was in their car at the time, and after Griselda was shot, she laid a Bible on Griselda’s chest.
Where are Griselda Blanco’s sons now?
Grisleda Blanco and her son Michael Corleone Blanco take a photo together.Michael Corleone Blanco Instagram
Griselda had four children. She and her first husband, Trujillo, shared three sons: Uber Trujillo, Dixon Trujillo and Osvaldo Trujillo. Griselda gave birth to her youngest son, Michael Corleone Blanco, with her third husband, Sepúlveda.
Most notably, Michael became a reality star on VH1’sCartel Crew, in whichhe claimedthat he began working for his mother’s cocaine business when he was 12 years old. After Griselda’s arrest in 1985, he led a quiet and private life with relatives, traveling between Colombia and the U.S. and staying near his mom’s correctional facility in California, according to theMiami New Times.
“When I got that phone call and I knew that my mother was dead, I realized that our previous cartel lifestyle was completely over.I had to make a choiceright then and there," he told PEOPLE in 2019.
Michael continued, “I had to evolve and become a different person in order to break that tie, so my children wouldn’t have to live the life that I lived. It wasn’t easy, and until this day, it’s very hard for me."
Today, Michael owns thePure Blancolifestyle brand. As for his mom’s presence in pop culture, he has worked onseveral projectsabout her but he sued Netflix and Vergara, alleging his “private artistic literary work” was stolen and inspiredGriselda, according toRolling Stone.
source: people.com
