This Is How Drug Lord Griselda Blanco Was Killed

Known as the "Godmother of Cocaine," Blanco was a fixture of the "cocaine cowboys" era that saw the drug proliferate in Miami, with its proceeds funding the city's real estate boom in the 1970s and '80s, per The Big Bubble Miami. According to The Guardian, she was widowed three times and believed to be responsible for anywhere from 40 to 200 murders.

Blanco's unwavering ruthlessness was well-known. She was suspected of being responsible for the murder of the 2-year-old son of one of her former associates. While his father was the target, Blanco was allegedly happy with the child's death.

For as much misery as Blanco heaped on other families, hers also suffered due to her prominence. According to The Mirror, three of her four sons were murdered. Her sole surviving son, Michael, survived seven assassination attempts.

Following a 20-year imprisonment in the states, Blanco was released and deported back to Colombia in 2004. According to Blanco's pregnant daughter-in-law, she was trying to leave her past life behind and succeed in the field of real estate at the time she was killed. But Bruce Bagley, author and head of the University of Miami's department of international studies, believes that this perception of the heartless killer is dangerous.

"The danger is she will be remembered not for her cold-heartedness and brutality but for being a woman entrepreneur in an emerging field dominated by men," he told The Guardian.

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