Griselda Blanco: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know

When it comes to badass females, it is a battle for second behind Griselda Blanco. Griselda’s dominance over the cocaine market and non-existent business ethics led to her being dubbed “The Godmother of Cocaine.” Needless to say, that’s a pretty big title for anyone from Colombia. On September 3, Griselda was gunned down outside of a butcher shop in her home town of Medellin. She leaves behind a legacy of brutal murders, cocaine smuggling innovation and a reputation comparable to only Pablo Escobar.

Here is what you need to know about Griselda Blanco.

1. She Was Murdered by Her Own Invention

On September 3rd, Griselda was walking out of a butcher with her pregnant daughter-in-law. Upon leaving the store, two motorcycles pulled up to Griselda and proceeded to shoot her repeatedly in the face. She died at the age of 69. The irony behind this story is that Griselda invented the concept of the “Motorcycle Assassin,” where two gunmen on motorcycles would drive by their victims and spray them with bullets.

2. She Was Dubbed “Godmother of Cocaine”

Griselda rose to power in the ‘70s and ‘80s during the infamous “Cocaine Cowboys” era of drug smuggling history. Griselda was known for her brutal tactics and never stepping down from a fight. When one of her sons was killed by a rival gang, Griselda was quoted saying “To the cowards whoever killed my son, the ground will shake beneath your feet. This deed will not go unpunished. I am the Mother F**kin Godmother.”

3. She Had a Ton of Enemies

She didn’t get this big without making some enemies along the way. Former Miami homicide detective Nelson Andreu commented “It’s surprising to all of us that she had not been killed sooner because she made a lot of enemies,” adding, ” When you kill so many and hurt so many people like she did, it’s only a matter of time before they find you and try to even the score.” Her enemies included the DEA and the top drug cartels in Colombia, most notably Pablo Escobar.

4. She Killed Her First Person When She Was 11

According to an article on Griselda done by Maxim, Blanco’s first brush with murder happened when she was only 11 years old. Griselda was born in 1943 and lived in an impoverished town near Cartagena, Columbia. This area was known as having such a high murder rate that children in the town would dig graves for fun. It’s kinda like a messed up version of Holes. One day, Griselda and her merry band of Rascals decided to kidnap a 10-year-old boy from a wealthy family who lived in the flatlands. The boy resisted and Griselda shot him in between the eyes. He was 10, she was 11. This started The Godmother’s career.

5. She Was Responsible for Between 40 and 240 Murders

No one really knows for sure how many murders Griselda is responsible for but investigators say the number ranges anywhere from 40-240. Out of those 40-240 murders, Griselda has only been charged with 3 murders. The most brutal of those three is the murder of Johnny Castro, a two-year-old boy who was driving in the car with his father, Jesus “Chucho” Castro at the time of his assassination.

6. She Attempted to Kidnap JFK Jr.

During her time in jail, Griselda plotted an elaborate attempt at kidnapping John F. Kennedy jr. in exchange fo her release from prison. The plot might have actually gone down had Griselda’s then boyfriend, Charles Cosby, not alerted the FBI to her intentions. The plot fell through and Griselda ended up finishing her sentence of 20 years.

7. She Was From Medellin

Griselda’s hometown was the infamous town of Medellin, the home of Pablo Escobar and that crappy movie that Vinny Chase starred in during season 3 of Entourage.

8. She Was Hollywood

Griselda and Hollywood had a very interesting relationship. Movies like Scarface were inspired by the flamboyant lifestyle of Griselda. Tony Montana was said to have been inspired by Blanco. On the reverse side, Griselda was a huge movie fan who went as far as to name her first son, Michael Corleone, after a character from the Godfather.

9. She Once Killed Her Husband and His Six Bodyguards

Blanco was married to a fellow Cocaine smuggler named Alberto Bravo. The story goes that one time Blanco was convinced that Alberto had stolen millions in profits from their shared empire. Griselda met Alberto and his bodyguards in a parking lot armed only with a pistol and her anger towards Bravo. They started to argue to the point where Griselda took the pistol out, shot Alberto several times, took the Uzi out of his waistband and then proceeded to mow down the six other men in Alberto’s entourage. She was wounded in the fight but overcame her injuries, Alberto and his six buds were not soo lucky. This was a milestone in Griselda’s cocaine career as she murdered not only her husband but one of her biggest competitors.

10. She Invented Her Own Line of Drug Smugglin’ Underwear

Griselda invented a line of underwear that was laden with secret pockets for smuggling drugs across borders. She also was a rumored bi-sexual.