Colombia is infamously known for its contribution to the spread of drugs in the world. At the helm of the global transportation of narcotics from Colombia are drug cartels run by drug lords. One of the biggest drug cartels in Colombia was the Medellin Cartel, taking its name from the city of Medellin where its operations began. Griselda Blanco was one of the drug lords in the Medellin Cartel, she is remembered for her reign of terror and the ruthlessness of her crimes.

Also known as La Madrina, Blanco earned numerous nicknames for her notoriety. She was called the cocaine godmother, the black widow, among other things. As reports had it, the ruthless drug lord was connected to over two thousand murders in her dangerous narcotics hustle.

The Rough Childhood That Drove Blanco Into Narcotics Merchandising

Griselda Blanco got acquainted with the ghetto life at a very young age. Wild, fearless, and daring, she was a notorious child who even before getting to her teenage years, already had hideous records of theft, kidnap, and even murder. She had taken these vices of hers to adult age and it was only a matter of time before she got into the real deal.

It all started when she fled from her mother in Medellin in a bid to escape sexual harassment from her mother’s boyfriend. A teenager at the time she was, but Griselda dwelled in the streets of Medellin indulging in different illegal acts to fend for herself; this was how she got into the drug business.

Griselda’s narcotics dealings reached its peak when she moved to the United States. She was married the second time at the time and left no stones unturned in her bid to take over drug business in the country. Settling in Queens, New York, she shot her cartel as well as connections to an unshakable level. However, Griselda was thrown off balance after she and her cohort were discovered by federal agents.

She Was an Active Player In The Miami Drug War

She fled the US to avoid getting caught by officers of the law but later came back to Miami, revamped her cartel, and employed all desperate and dangerous strategies to take over the city of a Miami. It was a move that resulted in the infamous Miami drug war, massive vicious acts of violence including the killing of nearly a thousand.

Despite efforts by the Drug Enforcement Administration to nail her for good, she always found a way to maneuver their tactics. Even when she was eventually arrested and convicted for 10 years in prison, La Madrina successfully ran her business whilst behind bars with the help of one of her sons.

Griselda Blanco Was a Billionaire Before Her Death

It is estimated that The Cocaine Godmother as she was also known, made transactions worth $80,000,000 monthly while she worked out of Florida. This she made from the 3,400 pounds of cocaine that she transported monthly.

She ran the transporting of all the cocaine through planes and boats. When she died in 2012, it is believed that she died a very wealthy woman with a net worth of $2 billion, all of which went to her only surviving offspring, Michael Corleone.

How Did She Die?

There were many attempts to kill Griselda Blanco. She lived a violent life and this was sure to follow her wherever she went. After killing her second husband, she moved to Miami, Florida where she established a reputation for being ruthless.

It is believed that she was like this to instill fear in her competitors. These competitors, in turn, sent out assassins numerous times to kill her.

It was, however, until 2012, after she had moved back to Colombia that she met her end. Griselda Blanco had gone out to buy meat and while she was still at the butcher’s someone came down from a motorcycle, shot her in her shoulder and head. Her death occurred on the 3rd of September, 2012.

Cocaine Godmother Lost Almost All of Her Family to Crime

Griselda Blanco’s first marriage was to a man called Carlos Trujillo. The couple had 3 children, all of whom were boys; Uber, Dixon, and Osvaldo. Like their mother, they led a life of crime. Griselda Blanco decided to move her operation to the United States in the mid-70s, by this time she had married a second time to Alberto Bravo. Their move to America was done illegally with fake passports.

When they arrived in the United States, they chose to stay in New York where they ran a successful cocaine business. With Bravo, she had no kids, but they ran the drug ring together. She killed him in 1975 after they had a street gunfight over funds missing from the profits of their business.

After Bravo’s death, she got married again, this time it was to a man called Dario Sepulveda. Her only surviving child, Michael Corleone Blanco was with Sepulveda. In 1983, she had him (Sepulveda) killed over the struggle for custody of their son. It had happened that Dario decided to leave Blanco but wanted to take his son; so he kidnapped Michael. To get Michael back Griselda Blanco ordered a hit on her husband. With his passing, she gained full custody of her child.

What We Know About Her Only Surviving Offspring

Blanco’s first three sons met their deaths in their native country of Colombia after they had been deported from America where they had committed their crimes.

Michael Corleone spent his childhood with his maternal grandmother as Griselda Blanco and her first three sons were in jail at that time of his life. But as he grew older, Michael’s relationship with his mother grew and he assisted with running her drug trafficking ring. Griselda Blanco would issue orders from prison and Michael would make sure they were executed. He started to do this when he was twelve and it was an operation he ran until her death. Michael also had run-ins with the law for his criminal activities.

Michael Corleone is known for humanizing his mother at any chance he gets, wanting the world to know that although she has hundreds of deaths credited to her, she was still a human being because she nurtured him as any mother would do. He is currently a part of the reality show, Cartel Crew, a show that chronicles the lives of the descendants of drug lords. Michael also runs a business where he sells cannabis-infused snacks online.

Movie Adaptation of La Madrina’s Story

There have been various media representations of the life of Griselda Blanco. Documentary films in 2006 and 2008 portrayed her as one of the Cocaine Cowboys of the 1980s drug scene in Miami. In 2018, Catherine Zeta-Jones played her in a television film that aired on Lifetime.

But a new film about her life is in the works. Its running title is The Godmother and Jennifer Lopez is one of the film’s producers, she will also be starring in the titular role. Michael Corleone has been spoken to about this film to get input on the life of his mother.