When people think of drug dealers, cocaine cowboys, and ruthless gangsters, they tend to think of Scarface-types — Tony Montana stereotypes, Godfather-like wiseguys with pinky rings and Italian silk suits.
The last thing people think of is grandmotherly types like Griselda Blanco.
Yet, that was also part of her effectiveness: because the so-called ‘cocaine godmother’ looked more like the abuela next door than the ruthless murderers of lore, Blanco was able to rule the Colombian drug cartel with an iron fist — she, in fact, was the first to introduce the concept of assassination-by-motorcycle to Miami in the 1980’s (when the cocaine trade was at an all-time high).
Alas, you live by the sword, and you die by the sword. The Huffington Post is reporting that the 69-year-old unlikely gangster — who has been the subject of many documentaries, including ‘Cocaine Cowboys’ — was gunned down in Medellin (the second-largest city in Colombia) yesterday. She had returned to Colombia after a 20-year prison sentence in Florida; after she returned to her homeland, she kept a low profile.
In her prime, Blanco ordered hits on over 250 people. It’s fitting — Kafka-esque — almost expected, then, that she would die the same way she lived.
Griselda Blanco Passes Away
When people think of drug dealers, cocaine cowboys, and ruthless gangsters, they tend to think of Scarface-types — Tony Montana stereotypes, Godfather-like wiseguys with pinky rings and Italian silk suits.
The last thing people think of is grandmotherly types like Griselda Blanco.
Yet, that was also part of her effectiveness: because the so-called ‘cocaine godmother’ looked more like the abuela next door than the ruthless murderers of lore, Blanco was able to rule the Colombian drug cartel with an iron fist — she, in fact, was the first to introduce the concept of assassination-by-motorcycle to Miami in the 1980’s (when the cocaine trade was at an all-time high).
Alas, you live by the sword, and you die by the sword. The Huffington Post is reporting that the 69-year-old unlikely gangster — who has been the subject of many documentaries, including ‘Cocaine Cowboys’ — was gunned down in Medellin (the second-largest city in Colombia) yesterday. She had returned to Colombia after a 20-year prison sentence in Florida; after she returned to her homeland, she kept a low profile.
In her prime, Blanco ordered hits on over 250 people. It’s fitting — Kafka-esque — almost expected, then, that she would die the same way she lived.
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