Griselda On Netflix: True Story Of Griselda Blanco, The Godmother Of Cocaine Who Was Feared By Pablo Escobar

"The only man I was ever afraid of was a woman named Griselda Blanco", Pablo Escobar had once said. Now, a web series based on the life of the drug lord hailed as Queen of Cocaine is now streaming on Netflix in which Sofia Vergara plays the titular role.

Who was Griselda Blanco on whom the Netflix web series is made?

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Born on February 15, 1943, in Cartagena, Colombia, Blanco was raised in poverty and had a rough and violent upbringing. She found herself drawn to a life of crime from an early age after she moved to Medell¨ªn at the age of three. Medell¨ªn is notorious for its criminal activity, and this marked the beginning of her criminal activities. It started with small-scale thefts and scams. She developed a ruthless and intimidating personality to cover up for her gender and age and soon Blanco was involved in the drug trade.

The Godmother of Cocaine

The ruthless boss of a drug empire became the most dangerous drug queenpins. She was known for her violent nature and was linked to countless murders. Known to eliminate rivals, Griselda Blanco didn't spare anyone including her associates and even family members.

Griselda Blanco's drug empire in America

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In the 1970s and 1980s, she was a key player in the drug business, often referred to as the Black Widow or the Queen of Cocaine. She brought innovations in the drug trafficking business and smuggled cocaine from Colombia to the United States by concealing them creatively in undergarments. This method allowed her to transport large quantities of drugs without any suspicion. As her rivals grew in numbers in Colombia, she moved to America with her three kids with no money in her bag but a kilo of cocaine hidden in it. However, she was soon indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges, which forced her to move back to Columbia where her rivals were still alive. Soon, she made connections in Miami, Florida and moved there.

Griselda Blanco's involvement in the Maimi Drug War

In the 1970s and early 1980s, drug-related crimes, particularly cocaine trafficking, increased in Maimi. This was the time when different drug cartels including Medell¨ªn Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, fought to control the cocaine trade in the US. During the Maimi drug war, Griselda and others including Mickey Munday and Jon Roberts helped Escobar in smuggling cocaine in America by faking shipments of things like fruits and other goods on planes and boats, making up 70 percent of cocaine, marijuana, and Quaaludes coming into the country every day.

Griselda Blanco's arrest

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Given her ruthless nature, Griselda made enemies not only from law enforcement and rival gangs but also from within her group. Everyone was trying to avoid going to jail. After the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) increased its surveillance on her, they arrested her in Irvine, California in 1985. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Her health worsened in prison, especially because she was a lifelong smoker. She suffered a heart attack in 2002, and was released in 2004. She was sent back to Medell¨ªn, her hometown, because her health was getting worse.

Griselda Blanco's murder and death

While she was leading a simple life and trying to devote it in improving Medell¨ªn's condition, her rivals were still alive and haunting her. In 2012, when she was 69 years old, she shot her twice and murdered as left a butchery along with her pregnant daughter-in-law.

Sofia Vergara as Griselda Blanco

In the Netflix series, Sofia Vergara will be seen as Griselda Blanco. While talking about the show, she said, "Most of the people know of Griselda as the ruthless, violent drug lord that she was. So we were very careful not to glorify her in the series. But we also wanted to take time to uncover the deeper story of Griselda, how beyond all odds, a poor, uneducated woman from Colombia managed to create a massive, multi-billion dollar empire in a male-dominated industry, in a country that was not her own, through tactics that she devised that were both ingenious and cruel."

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