Griselda Blanco

In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisBlancoand the second or maternal family name isRestrepo.

Griselda Blanco
Mugshot of Blanco in 1997
Born	Griselda Blanco Restrepo (1943-02-15)February 15, 1943 Cartagena,Bolivar,Colombia
Died	September 3, 2012(2012-09-03)(aged 69) Medellín,Antioquia,Colombia
Cause of death	Gunshot wounds
Other names	La Dama de la Mafia('The Lady of the Mafia') The Godmother The Black Widow
Spouses	Carlos Trujillo Alberto Bravo Darío Sepúlveda
Children	4 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 penalty	Federal:15 years' imprisonment Florida:20 years' imprisonment

Griselda Blanco Restrepo(February 15, 1943 – September 3, 2012) was a Colombiandrug lordwho was prominent in thecocaine-baseddrug tradeandunderworldofMiami,during the 1970s through the early 2000s, and who has also been claimed by some to have been part of theMedellín Cartel.She was shot dead inMedellínon September 3, 2012 at the age of 69.

Early life

Griselda Blanco Restrepo was born inCartagena, Colombia,on the country's north coast. She and her mother, Ana Restrepo,moved south toMedellínwhen she was three years old; this exposed her to a criminal lifestyle at an impressionable age, as Medellín was enduring years of its own socioeconomic, social and political troubles. Blanco's former lover, Charles Cosby, recounted that, at the age of 11, she allegedly kidnapped, attempted to ransom, and ultimately shot a child from an upscale neighborhood near her home.Blanco had become a pickpocket before she was a teenager. To escape the sexual abuse of her mother's boyfriend, she ran away from home at the age of 19, resorting to theft for survival in the city center until the age of 20.It is speculated that she may have engaged inprostitutionto better support herself financially during this time, although she denied this.

Drug business

See also:Miami drug war

Blanco was a key figure in the establishment of the cocaine trade between Colombia and large North American cities like Miami and New York, as well as to dealers in California.Her distribution network, which spanned across the United States and Colombia, earned $80million per month.

Blanco and her first husband, Carlos Trujillo, first started amarijuana-dealing enterprise in Colombia. In 1964, after divorcing Trujillo, Blanco illegally entered the United States with fake documentation, under an assumed name; she would end up settling inQueens,New York,with her three children and second husband, Alberto Bravo, a cocaine smuggler for theMedellín Cartel.They set up a thriving drug operation in New York City. However, nine years later in April 1975, Blanco was identified by authorities and indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges, along with thirty of her subordinates. The family fled to Colombia to avoid conviction. She returned to the United States in the latter half of the 1970s to start a new drug operation inMiami.

Her return coincided with the beginning of numerous violent public conflicts—notably, hundreds of homicides per year—that plagued the Metro Miami area during the 1980s, a time known as theMiami drug war.This was a period when cocaine was extremely lucrative, and trafficked more thancannabis.The struggle by law enforcement to end the influx of cocaine into Miami led to the creation of CENTAC 26 (Central Tactical Unit), a joint operation between theMiami-Dade Police Departmentand theDrug Enforcement Administration(DEA) antidrug operation.

Arrest

On February 17, 1985, Blanco was arrested in her home by DEA agents and subsequently 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 in prison.

While serving her sentence, she was charged with three additional counts offirst-degree murderby the state of Florida. The prosecution made a deal with one of Blanco's most trusted hitmen,Jorge Ayala,who agreed to testify that Blanco had ordered him to carry out the killings; however, the case collapsed due to technicalities relating to aphone sexscandal between Ayala and two female secretaries employed at the state attorney's office.In 1998, Blanco pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, to run concurrently.

In 2004, in light of her frail health, she was grantedcompassionate releasefrom prison in the United States and deported back to Colombia.

Personal life

Blanco had three husbands and four children. She met her first husband Carlos Trujillo when she was 13 years old. She and Trujillo had three sons together in Medellín: Dixon, Uber, and Osvaldo. All three were born before Blanco was 21.Blanco and Trujillo divorced but remained business partners. After an argument over a business deal that went awry, Blanco had Trujillo executed.

Following her marriage to Trujillo, Blanco married Alberto Bravo. After returning to Colombia, Blanco accused Bravo of stealing millions of dollars from the enterprise, and Bravo accused Blanco of letting her "Godmother" nickname go to her head. Blanco murdered Bravo by shooting him in the head.

Blanco had her youngest son, Michael Corleone Blanco (named after the characterMichael Corleonefrom the filmThe Godfather) with her third husband, Darío Sepúlveda.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.

According to theMiami 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 paternal grandmother and legal guardians."In 2012, Michael was put under house arrest after a sentencing on two felony counts of cocaine trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine.He appeared on a 2018 episode of theInvestigation Discoverydocumentary seriesEvil Lives Hereto recount his lonely childhood. In 2019, he was featured on the VH1 docuseriesCartel Crew,which follows the descendants of drug lords. He also runs a clothing brand, Pure Blanco.

According to Michael, his mother became aborn-again Christianin her later years.

Death

On September 3, 2012, Blanco and her pregnant daughter-in-law went to the Cardiso butcher shop on the corner of 29th Street in Medellín. As she exited, an assassin on a motorcycle shot her twice in the head, killing her.The act mimicked the assassination style that Blanco practiced during the Miami drug war.

Pop culture

Blanco has been featured in multiple documentaries, series, films, and songs, including several upcoming projects.

• Blanco features prominently in the documentary filmsCocaine Cowboys(2006) andCocaine Cowboys 2(2008; also written asCocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin' With the Godmother).
• In 2010, Florida rapperJacki-Oreleased a mixtape titledLa Madrina - Griselda Blanco.
• In 2011, rapperLil Kimreferenced Blanco in her "Warning Freestyle"; in 2016, she referenced Blanco again, in the song "Diego", on the recordLil Kim Season.
• She was portrayed by Colombian actress Luces Velásquez in the 2012 television seriesPablo Escobar, The Drug Lord(as the character of Graciela Rojas).
• In 2012, American rapperWestside Gunnformed a record label calledGriselda Records,named directly after Blanco.
• In the 2012Meek Millsong "Believe It",Rick Rossstates, "Rest in peace, Griselda Blanco."
• La viuda negra(The Black Widow) was a 2014 Spanish-languagetelenovelaproduced byRTI ProduccionesandTelevisafor United States-based television networkUnivisiónand for Colombia-based television networkCaracol Televisión.It is an adaptation of the bookLa patrona de Pablo Escobar of José Guarnizo,based on the story of Griselda Blanco; Blanco is portrayed byAna Serradilla.
• "Griselda Blanco" appears inMarlon James'Booker Prize-winning novelA Brief History of Seven Killings(2014).
• Korean-Canadian rapper Paul Blanco created his stage name after her, following the Chicagodrillrappers' trend of having drug lordstage names.
• In an early leaked version ofKanye West's 2016 song, "Famous",fellow rapperYoung Thugmentions Blanco.
• InNicki Minaj's verse inFetty Wap's 2016 single "Like a Star",Minaj references Blanco in her closing lines.
• In thetelevision filmCocaine Godmother(2018) onLifetime,Blanco was played byCatherine Zeta-Jones.
• "Griselda Blanco", a song by Toronto drill rappers Pengz and Two Two, was certified Platinum in Canada.
• In 2018, French rappersBoobaandMaescomposed a song, "Madrina", referring to Blanco.
• YoungBoy Never Broke Again's 2018 song "Slime Belief" references Griselda multiple times in the chorus.
• InNicki Minaj's unofficial 2019 remix ofDaBaby's "Suge",Minaj references Blanco in her opening line.
• InNicki Minaj's verse inChance the Rapper's 2019 song, "Slide Around",Minaj references Griselda Blanco andPablo Escobar.
• Blanco is portrayed bySofía Vergarain the six-partNetflixminiseriesGriselda(2024).

See also

• List of people deported or removed from the United States
• Enedina Arellano Félix,another female drug trafficker

Sources

• Smitten, Richard (November 1, 1990).The Godmother: the true story of the hunt for the most bloodthirsty female criminal of our time.Pocket Books.ISBN978-0-671-70193-2.Archived fromthe originalon February 7, 2009.RetrievedOctober 3,2010.
• Pablo Escobar and Colombian Narcocultureby Aldona Bialowas Pobutsky

External links

• Griselda Blanco pagina web(archived)
• Washington Post: Drugs
• Red Orbit: Cocaine 'Godmother' Released From PrisonArchivedNovember 23, 2011, at theWayback Machine
• Female ScarfaceArchivedFebruary 26, 2019, at theWayback Machine
• U.S. v. Griselda Blanco, 861 F.2d 773
• Griselda Blanco – War with Pablo EscobarArchivedOctober 21, 2021, at theWayback Machine| Video, Check123 – Video Encyclopedia