1943-2012
Latest News: Sofia Vergara stars as Griselda Blanco in the 2024 Netflix drama series Griselda
On January 25, Netflix released the limited series Griselda, starring Sofia Vergara in the title role. The six-episode show is based on the life of Griselda Blanco, a real-life drug trafficker and murderer who ran a cocaine cartel in the 1970s and ’80s. Her criminal prowess and viciousness earned her the nicknames “Godmother of Cocaine” and “Black Widow.” Vergara is known for her comedic chops on Modern Family and for judging America’s Got Talent, so the show offered her the chance to portray a complex and dark character.
Who Was Griselda Blanco?
Griselda Blanco engaged in criminal activity at an early age in her native Colombia and eventually built a drug trafficking empire in the United States. Blanco’s street smarts and ruthless streak—she’s connected to as many as hundreds of murders, including her husbands—helped her distribute cocaine from Miami to southern California in the 1970s and ’80s. Her criminal enterprise garnered her such nicknames as the “Queen of Cocaine” and “Godmother of Cocaine.” Following years of investigations, Blanco was arrested by federal agents in 1985 and spent nearly two decades in prison on drug trafficking and murder charges. At age 69, she was gunned down in 2012 back in Colombia.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Griselda Blanco Restrepo
BORN: February 15, 1943
DIED: September 3, 2012
BIRTHPLACE: Cartagena, Colombia
SPOUSES: Carlos Trujillo, Alberto Bravo, and Dario Sepulveda
CHILDREN: Dixon, Uber, Osvaldo, and Michael Corleone
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aquarius
Younger Years
Griselda Blanco Restrepo was born on February 15, 1943, in Colombia. Many sources cite her birth city as Cartagena, whereas others report it was Santa Marta. Her mother was reportedly an alcoholic sex worker who relocated to Medellín when Blanco was around 3. The young girl might have been abused by her mother’s clients.
Blanco turned to a life of crime at a young age. When she was 11, she purportedly helped kidnap a 10-year-old boy from a wealthy family in the Medellín area. When the family wouldn’t pay his ransom, Blanco allegedly shot the abducted child. She also reportedly became a pickpocket and sex worker.
Becoming The “Queen of Cocaine”
Blanco’s second husband, Albert Bravo, was a drug trafficker who introduced Blanco to the trade. She initially trafficked marijuana but soon switched to cocaine, which was easier to transport. Blanco had female couriers wear bras and girdles with special pockets to secretly carry the drug into the United States.
Blanco’s success in helping to distribute Colombian cocaine in New York City drew attention from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). In April 1975, Blanco and more than 30 of her partners were indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges as part of a wide-ranging investigation termed Operation Banshee. However, Blanco escaped arrest because she had fled to Colombia.
By the late 1970s, Blanco was in Miami. She established a massive narcotics ring that at its height was reportedly trafficking 3,400 pounds of cocaine each month. She also turned to violence to ensure her dominance as a drug kingpin. Blanco would eliminate people to avoid paying them money she owed, or because they owed her money, or if she felt they had disrespected her.
Blanco is credited with fine-tuning the murder method of having hired killers commit drive-by shootings on motorcycles, which made it easy for the assassins to vanish from the scene. According to the 2014 book Drugs in American Society, she was responsible for most of South Florida’s murders from 1979 to 1981. She was also behind the 1982 death of a 2-year-old who was an accidental casualty in her attempted takedown of a rival.
People began to use nicknames like “La Madrina (the godmother),” “Cocaine Queen,” “Godmother of Cocaine,” and “Queen of Cocaine” to refer to Blanco. She eluded law enforcement for years as she dyed her hair, lost or gained weight, or used one of multiple aliases. The DEA finally tracked Blanco down after she moved to California in 1984. In February 1985, she was arrested in Irvine, a city south of Los Angeles.
Conviction and Prison
Blanco’s trial, which took place in New York in June and July of 1985, ended with a conviction on one count of conspiracy to manufacture, import into the United States, and distribute cocaine. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison. At one point during her incarceration, she allegedly planned for associates to kidnap John F. Kennedy Jr. in order to use the former president’s son as a bargaining chip for her freedom.
While still a federal inmate, Blanco was transported back to Miami to face murder charges. She risked the death penalty, but the case against her derailed due to a strange turn of events. The prosecution’s star witness, a former hitman for Blanco named Jorge “Rivi” Ayala, had phone sex with secretaries in the state attorney’s office. Prosecutors ended up offering 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 back to Colombia.
Net Worth
At the height of Blanco’s trafficking success, she had a net income of $80 million per month. It’s estimated her net worth climbed as high as $2 billion. She had a mansion in Miami and flew on a private jet.
Blanco didn’t maintain a similarly luxurious lifestyle when she returned to Colombia following her time in prison. However, she still lived in an upscale gated community and had real estate holdings when she died.
Husbands and Sons
Blanco was married three times and had four sons.
Her first husband was Carlos Trujillo, a forger. She had three sons with Trujillo: Dixon, Uber, and Osvaldo. Although they divorced in the late 1960s, Blanco is suspected of ordering Trujillo’s death in the early 1970s.
After they worked together as drug traffickers, Blanco killed her second husband, Alberto Bravo, in a shootout outside Bogotá, Colombia, in 1975. She had suspected that Bravo had been stealing from her. This resulted in another Blanco nickname: “Black Widow.”
With her third husband, Dario Sepulveda, Blanco had one more son: Michael Corleone. He was named after a character from The Godfather, portrayed by Al Pacino in the Godfather movies. In 1983, Sepulveda was killed in Medellín by men pretending to be police officers. Blanco was also suspected of ordering his death.
Blanco’s three oldest sons followed in her footsteps. Dixon, Uber, and Osvaldo worked as drug traffickers, and all three were sent to federal prison around the same time as their mother. After being released from prison, they returned to Colombia. Uber and Osvaldo were both killed there, as Griselda would be in 2012. Dixon reportedly died as well, though some sources state that he is still alive or, at least, outlived his mother.
Michael Corleone was arrested for cocaine trafficking in 2011. His probation for these charges ended in 2018, according to Fox News. He has appeared on the VH1 series Cartel Crew, about the children and grandchildren of drug traffickers, and launched a clothing and lifestyle brand called Pure Blanco.
Death
On September 3, 2012, at age 69, Blanco was murdered in Medellín, Colombia. According to reports, a gunman on a motorbike shot Blanco after she exited a butcher shop. This was an echo of the drive-by murder method that she had used to take control of the drug trade in Miami.
After Blanco’s death, some authorities estimated she was responsible for 40 murders. Others believed she was responsible for up to 250 deaths. Blanco is buried in Jardines Montesacro cemetery. It’s the same resting place as her rival and fellow drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
Movies and Other Portrayals
Blanco’s story was a source of fascination for writers and artists even before her death. She was profiled in Richard Smitten’s 1990 book The Godmother and was prominently featured in Billy Corben’s 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys, as well as its 2008 sequel, Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin’ with the Godmother.
In 2016, HBO announced it was developing a film about Blanco’s life, with Jennifer Lopez attached to star. The project has yet to be completed. The following year, Catherine Zeta-Jones portrayed Blanco in the Lifetime biopic titled The Cocaine Godmother.
Watch Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story on Lifetime Movie Club
In January 2024, Sofia Vergara starred as Blanco in Griselda, a Netflix drama series. Blanco’s son Michael filed a lawsuit against the streaming service and Vergara accusing the show creators of using his likeness without permission. His attempt to temporarily block the series’ release was unsuccessful. He is also seeking at least $100,000 in damages.
Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us!
The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us
Sara Kettler is a Connecticut-based freelance writer who has written for Biography.com, History, and the A&E True Crime blog. She’s a member of the Writers Guild of America and also pens mystery novels. Outside of writing, she likes dogs, Broadway shows, and studying foreign languages.
