Who killed Griselda Blanco? (2024)

Blanco's net worth was said to have been in the billions, and the Miami murder rate reportedly increased substantially during her rule, earning her the nickname "Black Widow" (or the "Cocaine Godmother").

Blanco's lifestyle put a target on her back, and she eventually met her downfall in 2012.

But her death is omitted from the Netflix series, which begins with Blanco's move to Medellín, Colombia, before concluding with her imprisonment in the US.

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Speaking about the decision to cut Blanco's death from the show, executive producer Doug Miro told TODAY: "Emotional truth [was more important]. When I say 'truth', what we want is the essence of who the characters are emotionally, what their experience was, what it's like to put on their shoes."

He added: "To do that, you need to go past what's written, past what's published."

So, who killed Blanco and how old was she when she died? Read on for everything you need to know.

What happened to Griselda Blanco and how did she die?

Blanco was shot twice in the head by two mystery assailants travelling on a motorcycle while she was leaving a butcher's shop – a style of killing that officials said Blanco herself leaned on frequently to do away with her adversaries.

She died en route to the hospital.

Her pregnant daughter-in-law was also present, but was unharmed. She's said to have placed a Bible on Blanco's chest following the attack.

Who killed Griselda Blanco?

The identity of the killers, who immediately fled the scene, remains unknown, despite a police search. But Blanco certainly had no shortage of enemies.

"It's some kind of poetic justice that she met an end that she delivered to so many others," said Professor Bruce Bagley, author of Drug Trafficking in the Americas and head of the University of Miami's department of international studies (via The Guardian).

"Here is a woman who made a lot of enemies on her rise and was responsible for the deaths of untold numbers of people.

"She might have retired to Colombia and wasn't anything like the kind of player she was in her early days, but she had lingering enemies almost everywhere you look. What goes around comes around."

Blanco served approximately two decades in a US prison after being sentenced for drug trafficking in 1985, and later pleading guilty to three charges of second-degree murder.

Blanco was said to have been involved in at least 40 murders, and at most 200.

In 2004, she was deported back to Colombia, and reportedly turned her back on organised crime.

What happened to Griselda Blanco's sons and are they still alive?

Blanco is survived by one son, Michael Corleone Blanco. His father was Dario Sepúlveda, Blanco's third husband.

Blanco's other sons – Osvaldo, Dixon and Uber – were all killed.

"My mother was no saint," Michael Corleone Blanco told The Mirror in 2020. "She had to survive to do her thing. But at the end of the day, she was my mother. I will forever honour and respect her. I love her."

On her death, he said: "It was a call I had been dreading for years. I'd spoken to her at two that morning. They said to me, 'Michael, I'm standing over your mother's dead body.'

"Even right now it brings tears to my eyes because I was with my boys when I got that phone call. I was teaching my youngest one how to swim. I said, 'I'm not going to let these kids live the life that I lived.'

"But to get out of that life you have to let certain individuals know there won't be any retributions. It was taken care of in the old country, Colombia."

How old was Griselda Blanco when she died?

Griselda Blanco died on 3rd September 2012, in Antioquia, a department of Medellín, Colombia.

She was 69 years old.

Who is Griselda Blanco buried with?

Blanco was reportedly buried in the Jardines de Montesacro cemetery, where notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is also buried.

Griselda is available to stream now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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