The iron lady of the narcotics universe, Griselda Blanco, has been spun into a web of dramatization by Netflix in their latest miniseries ‘Griselda’. Having hit the platform with a six-episode thud on January 25, the series stars the Colombia-born Sofía Vergara - who swaps her comic persona of ‘Modern Family’ fame for the sheer brutality of Miami’s infamous ‘Queen of Cocaine’.
As stark and unyielding as the woman it’s based on, 'Griselda' digs into the carnage Blanco wrought during the '70s and '80s drug bodega extravaganza of Miami, according to Miami New Times. Billed the Black Widow – a not-so-subtle nod to her hobby of offing her better halves – Blanco's reign saw bullets whizz in broad daylight and left blood on the sales racks of shopping arcades. Her business model, as detailed by a former Miami homicide detective, was simple: “If you bought drugs from her and didn't pay her, she'd kill you.”
Beyond her lethal blueprint for conflict resolution, the Florida-bound saga also zeros in on her billion-dollar empire that included smuggling coke into Miami by the literal tonnage. Strategically hidden inside specially designed bras from her lingerie shop in Medellín, the operation was a testament to her business savvy, and cold-blooded resolve to stay at the top. In 1985, however, the house of cards came tumbling down with Blanco's arrest in her California home, followed by a 20-year prison sentence.
Her brush with the law was painfully etched with the ludicrous unraveling of a murder trial, where, according to Miami New Times, the government's star witness got a little too cozy with the secretary pool, culminating in phone sex scandals that threw serious prosecutions out the window. Later, with three second-degree murder convictions under her belt, Blanco walked out a free woman in 2004, only to meet her end at the barrel of a gun – a poetic yet twisted full circle for the drug lordess.
Meanwhile, Michael Corleone Blanco, the surviving progeny of the cocaine matriarch – who isn’t shy of his narco lineage – has been making headlines of his own. Featured in VH1’s ‘Cartel Crew’ from 2019 to 2021, Michael recently decided to play the legal card against Netflix and Vergara, accusing the creators of pilfering his "private artistic literary work" for the 'Griselda' script without permission, as reported by Harper’s Bazaar.
From young Colombian girl steeped in violence and debasement to the mastermind of a sprawling narcotic enterprise, Blanco’s story has already been dissected and displayed in documentaries and biopics past. But 'Griselda' promises a glimpse into the woman who jostled with the most violent of demons – be it in rival gangs or within herself. “She is a mother, villain, lover, and killer all at the same time,” Vergara told Harper’s Bazaar, painting a tapestry of complexity that resonated deeply with the actress. Seems like Netflix is banking on the belief that viewers will echo that same sentiment as they dive headfirst into the bloody waters of Miami’s coke-fueled heyday.
