Griselda True Story | POPSUGAR Leisure

The world of the Nineteen Seventies drug commerce has been explored in numerous films and TV reveals over time, and Netflix is able to add to the style with its upcoming miniseries, “Griselda.” The true-crime collection narrates a semi-fictionalized model of the actual lifetime of Griselda Blanco (performed by Sofia Vergara), one of the notorious, violent, and profitable drug lords of the period. So, how a lot do we actually know concerning the girl dubbed the Cocaine Godmother in actual life?

Who Was Griselda Blanco?

Within the Nineteen Seventies, the cocaine drug commerce was thriving all through South America, however particularly in Colombia, the place Griselda Blanco was born in 1943 and raised. As with every crime lord, rumors about her “origin story” swirled for years — some truthful, some much less so. Greater than seemingly, she was uncovered to a lifetime of crime at a younger age. Tales persist about her participating in pickpocketing, prostitution, and even kidnapping and homicide as an adolescent and even youthful.

By 1964, she used false passports to illegally transfer herself, her husband, and their kids to Queens, NY, in response to the Unbiased. From there, she started establishing herself as an influence participant within the drug commerce, a task she would proceed to develop over a long time.

Griselda’s Prison Enterprise

As soon as she established herself in New York, Griselda started constructing her “enterprise.” She began comparatively small — even shopping for an underwear enterprise so she may begin sneaking small portions of her “product” inside secret compartments within the items — and rapidly grew. In response to Maxim, her direct connection to Colombia gave her a leg up on the competitors, and by the mid-Nineteen Seventies, she had pilots flying in mass portions of cocaine for her to distribute, bringing her tens of millions of {dollars} each month.

Her first close to miss with the legislation got here within the mid-’70s, when the Drug Enforcement Administration closed in on her and her group. In an operation dubbed Operation Banshee, Griselda and 30 of her subordinates have been indicted on drug costs in 1975. Whereas a dozen of her collaborators have been finally tried and located responsible of “the most important Colombian narcotics group ever uncovered” (through New York Occasions), Griselda evaded seize by fleeing to Colombia. Regardless of the very best efforts of the DEA to trace her (and even get her to flip on the cartels), she eluded them and finally returned to the US, establishing her new base of operations in Miami.

As her energy grew, so too did her popularity for violence. Legends about her brutality blended with actual reviews of enemies being gunned down with stunning effectivity. Even two of her husbands met bloody ends for crossing her not directly. Her penchant for settling scores in such violent methods, mixed along with her “rule” over the cocaine commerce, earned her nicknames like Black Widow and Cocaine Godmother. The DEA activity pressure, led by agent Bob Palombo, looked for her for years, however her knack for disguise and her iron-fisted rule made it laborious for them to catch her.

What Occurred to Griselda Blanco?

Lastly, in 1985, Palombo’s group caught as much as Griselda, due to their ongoing investigations and well timed ideas from a couple of informants (who instantly have been positioned into witness safety). She had relocated to California to keep away from the hits that have been now out on her. In the end, nevertheless, she was taken into custody and placed on trial. In response to the Unbiased, nevertheless, the case in opposition to her was on shaky floor, and a number of scandals — together with a years-ago backroom settlement made by the decide now presiding over her case — led to a shorter sentence and plea offers for the homicide costs.

Griselda was launched from jail in 2004 and deported again to Colombia. She survived for eight years earlier than being assassinated, as three of her 4 sons had additionally been killed after leaving jail. Her solely surviving son, Michael Corleone Blanco, has spoken about his mom in varied interviews, and he has even starred within the VH1 actuality present “Cartel Crew.”