Marrying Her Was A Literal Death Sentence

most people experience their wedding day as a moment of pure happiness a step into a life filled with love and companionship but for Grisel de Blanco the cocaine Queen marriage was just the beginning of a deadly game she actually had had him killed okay how did she have him killed just pay somebody to kill him just I mean you know it's that simple you know like order like ordering fast food okay a game where betrayal meant death and the players her husbands never survived this is the story of a woman who didn't just break Hearts she shattered lives born on February 15th 1943 in kahena Colombia Blanco's life was steeped in crime from the start at the age of three she moved with her mother Anor Restrepo to medin this city which would later become infamous as the home of Pablo Escobar's cartel served as the backdrop for Blanco's criminal education medene in the 1940s and 50s was a crucible of violence Colombia was in the grip of a period known as La violencia a decade long Civil War that claimed over 200,000 lives young giselda grew up in a world where corpses littered the streets and human life held little value by the time she reached her teens Blanco was already an accomplished pickpocket but it was an alleged incident at age 11 that hinted at the depths of her future depravity according to her former lover Charles Cosby Blanco kidnapped a child from a wealthy neighborhood attempted to Ransom him and when the plan failed coldly executed the boy this act if true marked the beginning of Blanco's long and bloody career at 19 fleeing sexual abuse at the hands of her mother's boyfriend Blanco took to the streets fulltime she survived through theft and some speculate prostitution though she always denied the latter during this time she met her first husband Carlos truo truo introduced Blanco to the world of drug trafficking together they started a small marijuana dealing operation in Colombia this Venture would serve as the foundation for Blanco's future Empire however her relationship with truo was short-lived after divorcing him Blanco set her sights on bigger Targets in 1964 Blanco married Alberto Bravo a cocaine Smuggler for the medine cartel armed with fake documents and an assumed name she illegally entered the United States settling in Queens New York New York city became the Launchpad for Blanco's cocaine Empire with Bravo by her side she set up a thriving smuggling operation developing a network of Colombian dealers across the US her ruthlessness matched her business Acumen Blanco's operation quickly grew bringing in millions of dollars per month Blanco's success in New York didn't go unnoticed in April 1975 she was identified by authorities and indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges along with 30 of her subordinates facing certain conviction she fled back to Columbia with her family but this setback was only temporary by the late 1970s Blanco was back in the US this time setting her sights on Miami her return coincided with the beginning of the infamous Miami drug war a period of unprecedented violence that would claim hundreds of lives each year Miami saw dramatic changes in the homicide rate recalls Nelson Andrew we went from probably 80 to 100 murders a year to almost 3 to 400 we would just find the bodies shot in cars or restaurants or wherever it was Miami saw dramatic changes in the homicide rate um we went from probably 80 to 100 murders a year to almost 3 to 400 we would just find the bodies shot in cars or restaurants or wherever it was in Miami Blanco pioneered the use of motorcycle assassins a method that would become her trademark two Riders would pull up beside their target showering them with bullets before speeding away this tactic struck fear into the hearts of Rivals and law enforcement Blanco's Ingenuity wasn't limited to killing methods she revolutionized drug smuggling creating underclothes with hidden compartments to transport cocaine she recruited an army of beautiful Colombian women as drug mules training them to use their sexuality to distract border guards Blanco's business operations were vast and complex she controlled the Molene airport ensuring a steady flow of drugs into the United States her distribution Network spanned the entire country from Miami to New York to California at the height of her power Blanco's Empire was shipping over three on 400b of cocaine per month generating an estimated $80 million in monthly Revenue as her wealth grew so did Blanco's reputation for extreme violence she ordered the deaths of anyone who crossed her often demanding Overkill to send a message Rivals debtors even innocent bystanders none were safe from her wrath if she owed you money and didn't want to pay you she'd kill you if you owed her money she'd kill you sometimes she would just kill you for the fun of it if she owed you money and didn't want to pay you she'd kill you if you owed her money she'd kill you sometimes she would just kill you for the fun of it Blanco's pans shant for killing earned her the nickname the black widow she didn't hesitate to turn her murderous instincts on those closest to her including her husbands after divorcing trilo she had him executed over a business dispute her second husband Alberto Bravo met a similar fate when she accused him of stealing Millions from their Enterprise the details of Bravo's death are shrouded in Legend one version claims that Blanco herself killed him in a parking lot shootout in Bogota emerging with only a minor gunshot wound while Bravo and six bodyguards lay dead another version attributes The Killing to Pablo Escobar Blanco's relationship with Escobar was particularly noteworthy she played a crucial role in his rise to power introducing him to the cocaine trade when he was still making timid attempts to enter the business initially allies they would later become bitter Rivals Escobar no stranger to violence himself was said to have remarked the only man I was ever afraid of was a woman named Griselda Blanco Blanco's personal life was as chaotic as her professional one she had four Sons Dixon Uber Oswaldo and Michael Corone her third husband Dario sepulvida fathered her youngest son but was killed on Blanco's orders after a custody dispute as her wealth grew Blanco indulged in increasingly lavish and eccentric Behavior she bought a 25 karat diamond that once belonged to Ava Peron she had a bronze statue of herself made which other drug lords would rub for good luck she named her favorite German Shepherd Hitler and was rumored to have a tea set that once belonged to the Queen of England on February 17th 1985 DEA agents arrested her in her California home charging her with conspiracy to manufacture import and distribute cocaine the arrest was the culmination of a decade long Manhunt led by DEA agent B Palumbo Bob went directly up to Griselda and gave her a big kiss on the cheek one witness recalls she demanded to know what is that for which Bob replied that's because I'm so glad to see you because Bob had been hunting her for a decade Bob went directly up to giselda and gave her a big kiss on the cheek she demanded to know what is that for which Bob replied that's because I'm so glad to see you CU Bob and been hunting her for a decade Blanco was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1998 Blanco pleaded guilty to three counts of second deegree murder and was sentenced to an additional 20 years but fate had other plans for the cocaine Queen in 2004 suffering from ill health after a heart attack in 2002 she was granted compassionate release and deported back to Colombia on September 3rd 2012 Blanco's violent past finally caught up with her as she left a butcher shop in meí a man on a motorcycle pulled up beside her and fired Two Shots into her head in a Twist of irony Blanco was killed by the very method of assassination she had pioneered decades earlier even in death Blanco's influence continues her son Michael Corleone Blanco has appeared on reality TV shows like cartel crew and launch a clothing brand called Pure Blanco capitalizing on his mother's Infamous reputation Michael who was raised by his grandmother and legal Guardians due to his mother's imprisonment has shared his experiences of growing up as the son of the notorious cocaine godmother like comment and subscribe to criminal Quests for more insight into the world of crime