Griselda Blanco was a Colombian who was prominent in the Medellín-based and Miami-based cocaine trade, during the 1970s through the early 2000s. She was known as "La Dama de la Mafia" or "The Lady of the Mafia" and was also referred to as "The Godmother" and "The Black Widow".
Born on February 15, 1943, in Cartagena, Colombia, Blanco's early life was marked by poverty and exposure to a criminal lifestyle. She became a pickpocket before she was a teenager and later ran away from home at the age of 19 to escape the sexual abuse of her mother's boyfriend.
Blanco's rise to prominence in the cocaine trade began in the 1960s, when she started a dealing enterprise in Colombia with her first husband, Carlos Trujillo. After divorcing Trujillo, Blanco illegally entered the United States with fake documentation and settled in New York City, where she set up a thriving drug operation.
Blanco's distribution network spanned across the United States and Colombia, earning her $80 million per month. She was known for her cunning and ruthless tactics, including ordering the killings of her lovers and enemies.
Blanco was arrested in 1985 and served 15 years in prison for federal charges. She was also sentenced to 20 years in prison in Florida for cocaine trafficking.
Blanco was shot dead in Medellín, Colombia on September 3, 2012, at the age of 69. Her life and crimes have been the subject of several books, films, and TV series, including a Netflix series starring Sofía Vergara.
