Griselda Blanco de Trujillo The Godmother of Drug Trafficking - Essay Example

Griselda Blanco de Trujillo “The Godmother” of Drug Trafficking The “Godmother”, “la Madrina”, “Mama Coca” as she was known in the world of drug trafficking was a major player in the Cocaine Cowboy Wars in Miami during the 1970s and the early 1980s. She made her mark by painting the Miami streets red with blood. A lady employing a violent approach to her business, Griselda Blanco caused ripples in the southern region. She also went by the name; Verucca (a tough and fearless woman) among her dug related enemies (Davies 124). It is the violent nature of her business transaction that caused the intentional deaths of more than 200 people. The deaths show that Blanco was not hesitant to ward off any person who threatened her business. She did not tolerate any unwanted competition or betrayal during her reign. Those who would betray her were punished accordingly (Davis 124). At the tender age of her life, she is alleged to have kidnapped, asked for a ransom and firing a shot the kidnapped child from the well off part of her slum dwelling. At 14, she became a prostitute but later moved to the United States where her drug trafficking business kicked off. This history documents the inappropriate background that aided her ruthless and violent nature. Bob Polombo, US DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agent said that “I just think it was inherent to Griselda Blanco. This goes back to her life, the way she was brought up. She was just a violent person” (Brown 96).  Her first dwelling while in the United States was New York. She did not last long as she was eventually indicted bur fled to Miami where her business remained rooted for a long time. Among the most vivid case of her ruthlessness, the infamous bout with her rival drug dealer stands out. She commanded her gang to head to the Dadeland Mall (the busiest area in Miami) in her villainous white Econoline van to face off with the rival. (Swartz 193). The van was actually a “war wagon” because “its sides were covered by quarter-inch steel with gun-ports cut into them” (Brown 96). More so, the violent exchange of fire occurred in broad daylight. Ingram Mac-10 machine pistols and Baretta automatic handguns were widely used in this confrontation. (Swartz 193). What followed was a massacre that puzzled the Dade county coroner. He is quoted as describing it as “Swiss Cheese”. The continuation of her reign as the most fierce drug lord was facilitated by her most trusted commander tagged “Rivas”. She entrusted Rivas with heading her group of killers known as Pisteleros. (Riaño-Alcalá 42). Pisteleros and the subsidiary group known as the Motorcycle assassins were the main enforcers to the smuggling work. With this group, she would organize a network of women who were mostly widows and use them in smuggling the cocaine all over the United States. She created a lingerie so that her female traffickers would ferry her drugs without being detected (Surovell 4). By protecting her business empire, she had massive success as her operations expanded greatly in the 1970s. She received large quantities of cocaine from Colombia. She was able to rake in large amounts of money (Brown 96). She eventually became one of the richest self made millionaires as well as the most powerful in Miami and its environment. The “black widow” was the name that she was branded due to her murderous instinct towards her husbands. (Smitten 2). Her sociopathic behaviors towards her husbands put in total disregard all the achievements of the pairs. Her admirers who dared to cross her path were not spared. She would either hire professional contract killers to execute the murders or do it herself. The most inhumane murder was that of Trujillo. Trujillo was eventually not credited by Blanco for introducing her to the dangerous world of guns, murderers, and the drugs in the Medellin Cartel (Gugliota 8). Although he taught her all the useful tricks of drug trafficking, he was a victim of her wrath over a small business dispute (Surovell 4). Bravo was the next victim despite having formed a cartel responsible for large scale drug transactions employing about 1500 people. Two other men who were her husbands were also killed in disturbing circumstances. Her aggressive and intolerant nature is shown to have persisted throughout her life. Not even the closest of her lovers dared to go against her will. As a bisexual, she had exposure to numerous lovers most of which she killed by her gun or through her killer group. Though she had stints in prison, she had a well coordinated drug trafficking empire until the mid 1980s when her business started crumbling. First, she engaged in drug intake that had a negative toll on her mind, body and her drug trafficking empire. All that time, Bob Palumbo was right on her heels gathering enough evidence to warrant her arrest. The police finally succeeded in arresting her on February 17, 1985. On the time of her arrest, she was with the youngest of her four sons. Armed with the evidence, the DEA filed a court case that found Blanco guilty of second-degree murder. Though she received three consecutive 30 year sentences, she served for nearly 20 years. She was released on June 6, 2004 and deported to Columbia. Her location was unknown until September when reports of her shooting in Columbia surfaced. This fatal shooting led to her death. (Ferran 4) Works Cited Brown, Ethan. "Searching for the GODMOTHER." Ethan-brown. Maxim. Jul. 2008. Web. 2 Sep. 2012. Davis, David E. Urchin Society. Xlibris Corporation, 2010. Print. Ferran, Lee. “'Godmother of Cocaine' Gunned Down in Colombia: Reports.” news.yahoo. abc News. 4 Sep. 2012. Web 6 Sep. 2012. Gugliotta, Guy. and Leen, Jeff. Kings of Cocaine Inside the Medellín Cartel - an Astonishing True Story of Murder, Money and International Corruption. Garrett County Press, 2001. eBook. Riaño-Alcalá, Pilar. Dwellers of Memory: Youth and Violence in Medellin, Colombia. Transaction Publishers, 2010. eBook. Smitten, Richard. The Godmother. Pocket Books, 1991. Print. Surovell, Hariette. "Queenpins of the Cali Cartel." corpse.org.Exquisite Corpse. 2000. Web. 2 Sep. 2012. Swartz, James. Substance Abuse in America: A Documentary and Reference Guide. ABC-CLIO, 2012. eBook. Read More