Who was Griselda Blanco? Sofía Vergara stars in Netflix’s new miniseries about the Colombian drug trafficking queen. The story is based on the life of Griselda, responsible for one of the most profitable drug cartels in history and one of the most feared figures in Miami in the 70s and 80s. She was also played by Catherine Zeta-Jones in the film “Cocaine Godmother”, 2017.
A reference in cocaine trafficking in Latin America, Griselda entered the United States market and built an empire in the country — accumulating enemies and killing hundreds in the process. They say that even Pablo Escobar feared her… It’s a phrase of his, in fact, that opens the series: “The only man I was ever afraid of was a woman named Griselda Blanco.” She was called “La Madrina,” “La Jefa,” and “Black Widow,” and her reign lasted nearly five decades.
Childhood and beginnings of crime
Griselda Blanco was born in Cartagena, but moved to Medellín in her early years. At age 11, Griselda allegedly kidnapped a boy and killed him when his wealthy parents didn’t pay the ransom, People magazine said, citing Vice. According to the vehicle, the following year, she resorted to prostitution and theft. At 13, she went to live with an alleged pimp and document forger, Carlos Trujillo, who became her first husband.
Griselda and Trujillo had three children. According to Vice, however, the couple had disagreements over their growing empire, leading Griselda to divorce Trujillo and later kill him.
Continues after Advertising
Criminal organization and smuggling
In the 1960s, she moved with her family to New York, with her second husband, cocaine trafficker Alberto Bravo – who was already known in the region and introduced Griselda to his partners. The pair set up a very successful and profitable network, covering up criminal income through their clothing import company. She opened her own lingerie factory, which created pieces with hidden pockets for contraband. In 1975, known as the Alberto Bravo organization, the couple was arrested.
At the time, The New York Times wrote that it was considered “the largest Colombian organization ever discovered”. They were accused of conspiring to manufacture, smuggle and distribute cocaine in the US, and fled back to Colombia, where they planned to continue their business.
Sofia Vergara plays Griselda in the plot. (Photo: Reproduction/ Netflix)
Already in Colombian lands, Griselda and Alberto would have disagreed about the empire they shared. Impulsive, according to Maxim magazine, she shot him dead and survived a bullet to the stomach. After that, Black Widow took control of the entire operation. One of his most notorious massacres was in 1979, in a shopping center. Two of Griselda’s employees murdered Jimenez Panesso (one of her greatest enemies) and his bodyguard, in front of hundreds of people.
In 1978, she married her third husband, Darío Sepúlveda. Together with their son, the couple managed to return to the United States, where Griselda continued her reign. According to the Miami New Times, Griselda ordered Sepúlveda to be killed in 1983. At this point, they were already estranged, after infidelity and a disagreement over custody of the boy. With her husband’s death, the 5-year-old child was returned to her mother in the USA.
Continues after Advertising
Prison
After a decade on the run, Griselda was arrested in Irvine, California, in February 1985. According to the United Nations on Drugs and Crime website, when Drug Enforcement Administration officials detained her, she gave the wrong name and was carrying false documents. . Griselda was sentenced to 15 years in prison and a $25,000 fine by a jury.
While serving her federal sentence in New York, the state of Florida charged Griselda with three counts of first-degree murder. Special prosecutors in Orlando took over the case in 1999, and she pleaded guilty to two murders, as The New York Post pointed out. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison, to be served concurrently with her 15-year sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Schlessinger believes she committed and ordered many more murders than the three she was charged with. “There would certainly be dozens. We have no idea how many murders she authorized in Colombia. She was a complete sociopath. She murdered people in the blink of an eye. She would kill anyone who displeased her, whether because of a debt, because they ruined a shipment, or because she didn’t like the way they looked at her.”he told The Miami Herald.
Griselda was arrested in February 1985. (Photo: Reproduction)
Death
Griselda was released in 2004 and deported to Colombia, where she lived the rest of her life. She died on September 3, 2012, at the age of 69, when she was in a butcher’s shop and a masked man shot her twice in the head and then fled.
At the time, police officers told the Miami Herald they thought she had been dead for years. “It’s surprising to all of us that she wasn’t killed sooner because she made so many enemies. When you kill so many people 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.” explained former Miami homicide detective Nelson Andreu.
Continues after Advertising
Legacy
Griselda had four children. She and her first husband, Trujillo, had three: Uber Trujillo, Dixon Trujillo and Osvaldo Trujillo. The woman gave birth to her youngest son, Michael Corleone Blanco, with her third husband. Uber, Dix and Osvaldo would have been killed due to their involvement in trafficking.
Michael became the star of the VH1 reality show “Cartel Crew,” in which he claimed to have started working in his mother’s business at age 12. After Griselda’s death in 2012, he decided to change his life. “When I got that phone call and learned that my mother was dead, I realized that our old cartel lifestyle was completely over. I had to make a choice at that moment.”he told People in 2019.
“I had to evolve and become a different person to break that bond, so that my children wouldn’t have to live the life I lived. It wasn’t easy and it’s still very difficult for me to this day.”, he completed. Michael is suing both Netflix and actress Sofia Vergara, claiming that his “private artistic literary work” was used without authorization and inspired the series “Griselda”.
Michael sued Netflix over the release of the series. (Photo: Reproduction/ Instagram)
“Sofía Vergara did not consult any member of the Blanco family out of respect or to extract details before playing Griselda.”pointed out Elysa Galloway, Michael’s legal representative. “When Michael discovered the project, we contacted Sofía and offered consultancy services. They invited us to a meeting to say there was no room for us. Sofía’s team and producers were disrespectful and produced ‘Griselda’ for their own commercial gain, without key details from the Blanco family.”continued.
The idea was to obtain a court order so that the production would not be launched, but without success. The project was made available on the platform on January 25th, and became the most watched production on streaming in 24 hours. Watch the trailer:
Continues after Advertising
In an exclusive chat with hugogloss.comSofia Vergara explained why she decided to play the dark role, and even surprised by revealing what was the most difficult scene to record among so many shocking moments and twists. “It was a nightmare”he assured.
We also spoke with director Andrés Baiz, who made a point of clarifying some “fake news” that Sofía was telling, as well as stars Alberto Guerra and Paulina Dávila. The Cuban, by the way, spoke to us in Portuguese and explained his very special past with Brazil!
Press play to check it out!
Follow her Hugo Gloss no Google News and follow our highlights