Killing for cocaine: Inside evasive drug queen Griselda Blanco's reign of terror that came to an ironic end
Ruthless and brutal "Cocaine Godmother" Griselda Blanco became the world's most unlikely drug lord, commanding a crew that shipped thousands of pounds of cocaine into the U.S. every month, leading an organization that was suspected to be behind over 200 murders, and even reportedly inspiring and grooming renowned drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Her reign of terror began in the 1970s and lasted until police caught up with her in 1985.
But, before her arrest, she managed to leave a bloody trail of death behind her.
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"Griselda was an enigma," DEA Agent Robert Palombo, the man who ultimately captured Blanco, said on Fox Nation's "Cocaine Godmother" documentary capturing the life of the narcotics queen. "She always looked for a twist. Not just put a bullet in their head. Make a statement."
Judge Jeanine Pirro, in hosting the documentary that's streaming on the platform, said Blanco was particularly evasive.
Mugshot of the Colombian drug lord of the Medellin Cartel, Griselda Blanco Restrepo (1943-2012), Metro Dade Police, 1997. (ALAMY)
"To the law enforcement agents pursuing her, Griselda Blanco was a ghost," she said. "She was always one step ahead, disappearing into thin air. Until one day, luck ran out for the 'Godmother' of cocaine."
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The flamboyant mastermind became a pioneer in the Miami drug trade and one of the most influential – and ruthless – traffickers in the business.
"The bodies were so numerous they had to rent refrigerated trucks to store them. She never showed the slightest bit of remorse on having people killed," said detective Al Singleton, another influential figure behind the pursuit and capture of Blanco.
Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco. (ALAMY)
Blanco was said to have used violence to communicate with competitors, even inventing the motorcycle drive-by killing that would later become the way she met her own fate. But when a series of threats came her way, she fled Miami for California, where she was ultimately captured by Palombo.
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After tracing the cocaine queen to Irvine, California, in February 1985, the former DEA agent who had been assigned to a South Floridian drug task force entered, walked up some stairs and found Blanco sitting on a bed.
He greeted her with, "Griselda, we finally meet."
Blanco has since been immortalized in other ways, most recently by Colombian-American actress Sofia Vergara in Netflix's "Griselda." Her only surviving son, Michael Corleone Blanco, has also been outspoken about his mother's life story since her assassination in 2012.
To learn more about Blanco, sign up for Fox Nation and begin streaming "Cocaine Godmother" today.
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Fox News' Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report.
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