Griselda Blanco, 'Godmother of Cocaine,' Assassinated in Colombia
Griselda Blanco, 69, was assassinated this weekend outside her home in Colombia. She was known as the "Godmother of Cocaine" for her extensive dealing and her death has brought an end to a reign of terror.
Blanco served 20 years in jail for trafficking cocaine and killing three people including a 2-year-old boy. Police have estimated, though, that Blanco was responsible for more than 40 homicides. She was credited with inventing the idea of the motorcycle assassin, which is, ironically, what killed her.
"It's surprising to all of us that she had not been killed sooner because she made a lot of enemies," former Miami homicide detective Nelson Andreu told the Miami Herald. "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."
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Blanco rang a drug ring in Miami during the 1970s and '80s and earned the nickname the "Godmother of Cocaine" for her business. In 2004, she was deported to Colombia, where she reportedly kept a low profile. Yet her past caught up to her in her hometown of Medellin.
Two men on motorcycles found Blanco as she left a building and fired two shots into her head. She was killed instantly. Two of her four sons were also assassinated in Colombia; they had helped Blanco run the smuggling business. Three of her husbands also died in drug-related violence, the Miami Herald reported.
Her life was an inspiration for the 2006 documentary "Cocaine Cowboys," which detailed the rise of cocaine in Miami. The rampant drug use of the 1970s and '80s were also prominently featured in such films as "Scarface" and "The Godfather" and "Miami Vice."
Blanco named one of her sons Michael Corleone in tribute to the character from "The Godfather."
