Griselda Blanco#Miami drug war

Griselda Blanco Restrepo was born in Cartagena, Colombia, on the country's north coast. She and her mother, Ana Restrepo,{{Cite web|url=http://m.semana.com/nacion/griselda-blanco-tan-cruel-como-escobar/184299-3.aspx|title=Her mother's name|website=Semana|language=es|access-date=September 9, 2012|archive-date=September 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913001435/http://m.semana.com/nacion/griselda-blanco-tan-cruel-como-escobar/184299-3.aspx|url-status=dead|quote=Su madre Ana Lucía Restrepo era la criada de una finca en Cartagena, pero fue despedida cuando quedó embarazada de su patrón.}} moved south to Medellín when 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 neighbourhood near her home.{{cite journal|title=Searching for the Godmother of Crime |journal=Maxim |url=http://www.maxim.com/humor/articles/57005/searchingforthegodmotherofcrime.html |date=July 2008 |last=Brown |first=Ethan |pages=94–98 |issn=1092-9789 |publisher=Alpha Media Group |access-date=October 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614094614/http://www.maxim.com/humor/articles/57005/searchingforthegodmotherofcrime.html |archive-date=June 14, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}{{cite video |people =Corben, Billy (director); Cosby, Charles (himself); Blanco, Griselda (herself)|date=July 29, 2008|title=Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin' with the Godmother|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176726|medium=DVD|publisher=Magnolia Home Entertainment |access-date=October 3, 2010|ASIN=B00180R03Q|id={{UPC|876964001366}}|archive-date=August 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808131221/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176726/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Cosby|first=Charles|title=Charles Cosby: From Early Childhood to Cocaine and Hustlin'|url=http://theblogunion.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/charles-cosby-from-early-childhood-to-cocaine-and-hustlin%E2%80%99/|website=The Blog Union|access-date=May 19, 2012|archive-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502161844/http://theblogunion.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/charles-cosby-from-early-childhood-to-cocaine-and-hustlin%E2%80%99/|url-status=live}} 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 in prostitution to better support herself financially during this time.{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Jennie Erin |title=Cocaine Cowgirl: The Outrageous Life and Mysterious Death of Griselda Blanco, the Godmother of Medellin |publisher=Byliner Inc |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-61452-087-0}}{{Cite book |last=LaSala |first=Francine |title=Mistresses of mayhem: the book of women criminals |publisher=Alpha |year=2002 |isbn=978-0965047227 |location=Indianapolis, IN |pages=31}}

{{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.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} Her distribution network, which spanned across the United States and Colombia, earned $80{{nbsp}}million per month.

Blanco and her first husband, Carlos Trujillo, first started a marijuana-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 in Queens, New York, with her three children and second husband, Alberto Bravo, a cocaine smuggler for the Medellín 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 in Miami.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

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 the Miami drug war. This was a period when cocaine was extremely lucrative, and trafficked more than cannabis.{{cite video|people=Corben, Billy (director); Roberts, Jon (actor); Sunshine, Al (actor); Burstyn, Sam (actor); Munday, Mickey (actor); Palumbo, Bob (actor)|date=January 23, 2007|title=Cocaine Cowboys|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380268|medium=DVD|publisher=Magnolia Home Entertainment|access-date=October 3, 2010|ASIN=B000KLQUUS|id={{UPC|876964000635}}|archive-date=August 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827072916/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380268/|url-status=live}} 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 the Miami-Dade Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) antidrug operation.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3dGino_7DoC|title=Kings of Cocaine: Inside the Medellín Cartel – An Astonishing True Story of Murder, Money and International Corruption|first1=Guy|last1=Gugliotta|first2=Jeff|last2=Leen|date=July 16, 2011|publisher=Garrett County Press|isbn=9781891053344|access-date=June 19, 2016|via=Google Books}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/es/article/griselda-blanco-so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-cocaine/|title=Griselda Blanco: hasta nunca y gracias por la coca|website=VICE – España|date=September 5, 2012|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026131037/https://www.vice.com/es/read/griselda-blanco-so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-cocaine|url-status=live}}

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.{{Cite web |title=United States v Blanco |url=https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/case-law-doc/drugcrimetype/usa/1988/united_states_v_blanco.html |access-date=2022-04-20 |website= |language=en |archive-date=March 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313013318/https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/case-law-doc/drugcrimetype/usa/1988/united_states_v_blanco.html |url-status=live }}

While serving her sentence, she was charged with three additional 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 Blanco 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 employed at the state attorney's office.{{Cite news|title=Secretaries Suspended Over Phone Sex|date=24 February 1998|url=https://apnews.com/article/d2783734bfb4d93043bae3edec8fbe94 |access-date=2022-04-20|newspaper=Associated Press|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331015627/https://apnews.com/article/d2783734bfb4d93043bae3edec8fbe94|archive-date=2021-03-31}} In 1998, Blanco pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, to run concurrently.{{cite web | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-godmother-of-cocaine-was-killed-in-yesterday-2012-9 | title=The Incredible Story of Colombia's 'Godmother of Cocaine' | website=Business Insider | access-date=May 16, 2022 | archive-date=May 16, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516202142/https://www.businessinsider.com/the-godmother-of-cocaine-was-killed-in-yesterday-2012-9 | url-status=live }}{{cite news|work=New York Post|title=QUEENS NOW RULE WHERE KINGPINS ONCE REIGNED: WOMEN ARE RUNNING DRUG RINGS AFTER FALL OF COLOMBIAN CARTELS|author=Lathem, Niles|date=June 8, 2000|url=https://nypost.com/2000/06/08/queens-now-rule-where-kingpins-once-reigned-women-are-running-drug-rings-after-fall-of-colombian-cartels/|access-date=December 11, 2017|archive-date=June 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619080956/https://nypost.com/2000/06/08/queens-now-rule-where-kingpins-once-reigned-women-are-running-drug-rings-after-fall-of-colombian-cartels/|url-status=live}}

In 2004, in light of her frail health, she was granted compassionate release from prison in the United States and deported back to Colombia.

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 by the time Blanco was 26. 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.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

Blanco had her youngest son, Michael Corleone Blanco (named after the character Michael Corleone from the film The 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.{{cite journal|last=Alvarado|first=Francisco|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2011-10-13/news/michael-corleone-blanco-lives-in-the-shadow-of-his-cocaine-queen-mother|date=October 13, 2011|title=Michael Corleone Blanco lives in the shadow of his cocaine-queen mother|journal=Miami New Times|access-date=September 4, 2012|archive-date=February 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225164353/http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2011-10-13/news/michael-corleone-blanco-lives-in-the-shadow-of-his-cocaine-queen-mother/|url-status=dead}}

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 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.{{cite journal|last=Alvarado|first=Francisco|url=http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2012/09/michael_corleone_blanco_grisel.php|date=Sep 5, 2012|title=Griselda Blanco's Son Michael Corleone Still Faces Cocaine Trafficking Charge in Miami|journal=Miami New Times|access-date=September 5, 2013|archive-date=August 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805085332/http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2012/09/michael_corleone_blanco_grisel.php|url-status=live}} Michael's probation ended in 2018.{{Cite web |last=Johansson |first=Jeffrey |date=August 27, 2024 |title=The Blanco Bloodline: Truth vs. Fiction in Netflix’s Griselda |url=https://bluechipbg.com/griselda-blanco-sons-dixon-trujillo-uber-trujillo-osvaldo-trujillo-and-michael-corleone/#:~:text=his%20probation%20ended%20in%202018%2C |website=BlueChip BG |language=English |type=Article, Blog Post}} 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 on the VH1 docuseries Cartel Crew, which follows the descendants of drug lords. He also runs a clothing brand, Pure Blanco.Pablo Escobar and Colombian Narcoculture by Aldona Bialowas Pobutsky, 163-164{{cite book|title=Substance Abuse in America: A Documentary and Reference Guide|author=Swartz, James A.|page=193}}{{cite book|title=Mistresses of mayhem: the book of female criminals|author=Hornberger, Francine |page=32}}{{cite book|title=The Mammoth Book of Gangs|author=Morton, James }}

According to Michael, his mother became a born-again Christian in her later years.{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cocaine-cowboys-griselda-blanco-dead-tony-montana-368057|title='Cocaine Cowboys' Griselda Blanco, Real-Life 'Female Tony Montana', Gunned Down in Colombia|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=2017-09-16|language=en|archive-date=February 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204064523/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cocaine-cowboys-griselda-blanco-dead-tony-montana-368057|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite news|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1942452.html#storylink=cpy|work=Miami Herald|date=September 5, 2012|title=The life and death of 'cocaine mother' Griselda Blanco|author1=Robles, Frances|author2=Bargent, James|access-date=February 10, 2016|archive-date=July 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704213018/https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1942452.html#storylink=cpy|url-status=live}} The act mimicked the assassination style that Blanco practiced during the Miami drug war.{{Cite news |last1=Luscombe |first1=Richard |last2=Miami |date=2012-09-04 |title='Godmother of cocaine' shot dead in Colombia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/04/godmother-cocaine-shot-dead-colombia |access-date=2024-02-01 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=July 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704212841/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/04/godmother-cocaine-shot-dead-colombia |url-status=live }}

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

• Blanco features prominently in the documentary films Cocaine Cowboys (2006) and Cocaine Cowboys 2 (2008; also written as Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin' With the Godmother).{{cite book |last1=Farzad |first1=Roben |title=Hotel Scarface: Where Cocaine Cowboys Partied and Plotted to Control Miami |date=17 October 2017 |publisher=Berkley |isbn=978-1592409280}}
• In 2010, Florida rapper Jacki-O released a mixtape titled La Madrina - Griselda Blanco.
• In 2011, rapper Lil Kim referenced Blanco in her "Warning Freestyle"; in 2016, she referenced Blanco again, in the song "Diego", on the record Lil Kim Season.
• She was portrayed by Colombian actress Luces Velásquez in the 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, named directly after Blanco.
• In the 2012 Meek Mill song "Believe It", Rick Ross states, "Rest in peace, Griselda Blanco."
• In 2013, American rapper Pusha T mentions Blanco in the song "Pain" from his studio album My Name Is My Name.
• La viuda negra (The Black Widow) was a 2014 Spanish-language telenovela produced by RTI Producciones and Televisa for United States-based television network Univisión and for Colombia-based television network Caracol Televisión. It is an adaptation of the book La patrona de Pablo Escobar of José Guarnizo, based on the story of Griselda Blanco; Blanco is portrayed by Ana Serradilla.
• "Griselda Blanco" appears in Marlon James' Booker Prize-winning novel A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014).
• Korean-Canadian rapper Paul Blanco created his stage name after her, following the Chicago drill rappers' trend of having drug lord stage names.{{Citation |title=[한글자막] 폴블랑코에게 97년생이 맞냐고 묻다 |date=January 22, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCGVg2JLvTM |access-date=2023-09-10 |language=en |archive-date=December 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205175615/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCGVg2JLvTM |url-status=live }}
• In an early leaked version of Kanye West's 2016 song, "Famous", fellow rapper Young Thug mentions Blanco.
• In Nicki Minaj's verse in Fetty Wap's 2016 single "Like a Star", Minaj references Blanco in her closing lines.
• In the television film Cocaine Godmother (2018) on Lifetime, Blanco was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.{{cite web|last=Evans|first=Greg|date=18 May 2017|title=Lifetime Greenlights 'Cocaine Godmother' Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones|url=https://deadline.com/2017/05/lifetime-cocaine-godmother-catherine-zeta-jones-guillermo-navarro-1202097753/|access-date=7 June 2017|publisher=Deadline Hollywood|archive-date=May 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518222138/http://deadline.com/2017/05/lifetime-cocaine-godmother-catherine-zeta-jones-guillermo-navarro-1202097753/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|author=Brown, Scott|date=6 June 2017|title=Hollywood North: Catherine Zeta-Jones filming 'Cocaine Godmother' in Vancouver|work=The Vancouver Sun|url=https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/movies/hollywood-north-catherine-zeta-jones-filming-cocaine-godmother-in-vancouver|access-date=7 June 2017|archive-date=June 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606214259/http://vancouversun.com/entertainment/movies/hollywood-north-catherine-zeta-jones-filming-cocaine-godmother-in-vancouver|url-status=live}}
• "Griselda Blanco", a song by Toronto drill rappers Pengz and Two Two, was certified Platinum in Canada.{{cite certification|region=Canada|artist=Pengz, Two Two|title=Griselda Blanco|access-date=29 November 2021}}
• In 2018, French rappers Booba and Maes composed a song, "Madrina", referring to Blanco.
• YoungBoy Never Broke Again's 2018 song "Slime Belief" references Griselda multiple times in the chorus.
• In Nicki Minaj's unofficial 2019 remix of DaBaby's "Suge", Minaj references Blanco in her opening line.
• In Nicki Minaj's verse in Chance the Rapper's 2019 song, "Slide Around", Minaj references Griselda Blanco and Pablo Escobar.
• Blanco is portrayed by Sofía Vergara in the six-part Netflix miniseries Griselda (2024).

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

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|url=http://www.richardsmitten.com/godmother.html|title=The Godmother: the true story of the hunt for the most bloodthirsty female criminal of our time|last=Smitten|first=Richard|publisher=Pocket Books|date=November 1, 1990|isbn=978-0-671-70193-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207084259/http://www.richardsmitten.com/godmother.html|archive-date=February 7, 2009|access-date=October 3, 2010}}
• [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pobutsky&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 Pablo Escobar and Colombian Narcoculture] by Aldona Bialowas Pobutsky

{{commonscatinline}}

• [https://archive.today/20130218021012/http://www.griseldablanco.info/ Griselda Blanco pagina web] (archived)
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/drugs/rayful.htm Washington Post: Drugs]
• [http://www.redorbit.com/news/oddities/62709/cocaine_godmother_released_from_prison/index.html Red Orbit: Cocaine 'Godmother' Released From Prison] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123071953/http://www.redorbit.com/news/oddities/62709/cocaine_godmother_released_from_prison/index.html |date=November 23, 2011 }}
• [http://panachereport.com/channels/more%20short%20stories/FemaleScarface.htm Female Scarface] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226174303/http://panachereport.com/channels/more%20short%20stories/FemaleScarface.htm |date=February 26, 2019 }}
• [http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/861/773/138342/ U.S. v. Griselda Blanco, 861 F.2d 773]
• [http://www.check123.com/videos/10410-griselda-blanco-war-with-pablo-escobar Griselda Blanco – War with Pablo Escobar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021080114/http://www.check123.com/videos/10410-griselda-blanco-war-with-pablo-escobar |date=October 21, 2021 }} | Video, Check123 – Video Encyclopedia

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