Colombian cocaine trafficker Griselda Blanco, also known as the Godmother, the Godmother, and Black Widow, was a major player in the Miami drug battles of the 1970s and 1980s. She created a massive empire and was a key character in the violence.
Griselda Blanco got her start in the criminal world at a young age and quickly rose to prominence as a cocaine trafficker. Blanco was known as the “Queen of Cocaine” and the “Black Widow” because of her street smarts and ruthlessness while working for the Medellin Cartel. When federal officials rounded on Blanco in 1985 after years of inquiry, he was already in prison for over two decades. In 2012, she was shot and killed in Colombia at the age of 69.
Early inclination towards criminality:
Cartagena, Colombia, was the birthplace of Griselda Blanco Restrepo on the 15th of February 1943. Blanco was raised in a life of crime and prostitution by an abusive mother from an early age. She eventually joined the notorious Medellin Cartel in Colombia, helping to transport Colombian cocaine across the country, particularly to New York, Miami, and the southern California cities of Los Angeles. Large amounts of cocaine were smuggled across the border by cartel members wearing special underwear devised and manufactured by Blanco, allegedly.
This woman is known as the ‘Queen of Cocaine.’
Blanco moved to New York City in the mid-1970s after leaving Colombia. To put it another way, by this point, the notorious drug trafficker was running a vast drugs operation, with a reputation that rivaled that of Pablo Escobar. The DEA, on the other hand, was hot on Blanco’s trail as part of “Operation Banshee,” a broad probe. Blanco and over 30 of her associates were indicted on federal narcotics conspiracy charges in 1975 after investigators allegedly intercepted 150 kg of cocaine. In the meantime, Blanco had fled to Colombia. However, it wasn’t long before she returned to the United States, settling in Miami this time.
The fact that Blanco remained involved in the Colombian drug trade during her time in the United States led to her involvement in a number of other crimes, including drive-by shootings and other assassinations fueled by narcotics, money, and authority. Her involvement in dozens of murder cases, including a drug-related shooting in a Miami liquor shop in 1979, had been established by the late ’70s by detectives, but she always managed to elude capture.
Blanco had just acquired a home in Miami, Florida, and was looking forward to settling down there in the 1980s. The reputed cocaine trafficker was now a millionaire and known as the “Godmother,” the “Queen of Cocaine,” and the “Black Widow” among other things. However, in February 1985, her good fortune ran out when she was apprehended by DEA agents in Irvine, California.
If You’re Convicted, You Face Time Behind Bars:
Blanco was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to produce, bring into the United States, and distribute cocaine during a trial that began in June 1985 in New York. Despite being linked to a slew of murders in the state of Florida, she was cleared of all charges and given a 15-year sentence.
To avoid re-arrest on the three murder accusations he currently faces, Blanco was extradited to the United States from Mexico in 1994. An unexpected twist in the tale led to this case being overturned. Ayal’s testimony on the stand was tainted by his romantic involvement with the secretary of the Florida State Attorney’s Office, so the prosecution threw him out of court. Theoretically, Ayala bungled the case on purpose because he was afraid to testify for fear of being killed by cartel members.
The three murder charges were dropped after Blanco entered a plea agreement with prosecutors, and she was sentenced to ten years in prison. She was finally released from prison in June of 2004 and sent back to her native Colombia.
Life, Death, and the Movie;
Blanco was assassinated on September 3 in Medellin, Colombia, at the age of 69. Blanco was shot by two motorcycle-riding gunmen after she exited a butcher store, according to accounts. Authorities at the time put the death toll at 40, calling them “conservative,” however others put it far higher, at over 200..
Her narrative captivated artists and writers long before she passed away. Billy Corben’s 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys and its 2008 sequel both featured her prominently. She was the subject of Richard Smitten’s 1990 book The Godmother.
A film on Blanco’s life was announced by HBO in 2016 with Jennifer Lopez attached to star. The Cocaine Godmother, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, aired on Lifetime the year after, and it too was a biography.
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