The Netflix series, “Griselda,” which portrays the life of the notorious drug lord Griselda Blanco, has ignited a wave of interest about her religious beliefs and heritage.
Known as the “Cocaine Godmother” or simply “The Godmother,” Blanco was a formidable figure in the drug trade.
The Netflix series sheds light on a specific period of her life – her reign in Miami during the late 1970s and 1980s.
Blanco’s story has been previously explored in the documentary “Cocaine Cowboys” and the Lifetime film “Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story.”
In today’s article, we delve into the life of Griselda Blanco, exploring her religious affiliations, her family background, and the crimes that made her infamous.
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Griselda Blanco Religion: Was She Christian Or Jewish?
Griselda Blanco, the infamous “Cocaine Godmother,” was a Christian, not Jewish.
On her official Wikipedia page, she is listed among Colombian Christian individuals. Therefore, we can conclude that this notorious drug lord was a Christian.
In addition to this, Blanco’s son, Michael, has stated that she became a born-again Christian in her later years.
This suggests that Blanco underwent a significant religious transformation later in life, embracing the Christian faith in a more profound and personal way.
It remains unknown how Blanco’s Christian faith may have influenced her life and actions, particularly given her notorious reputation in the drug trade.
However, considering the fact that she became a born-again Christian in the later days of her life, it appears she may have sought some form of redemption or transformation.
This religious shift could have been an attempt to reconcile with her past actions or find peace in her final years.
Yet, without more detailed personal accounts or records, it is just an assumption.
Griselda Blanco Family Ethnicity
Griselda Blanco Restrepo, born in the coastal city of Cartagena in Colombia, is of Colombian ethnicity.
When she was three, she and her mother, Ana Blanco, relocated to Medellín, marking her early introduction to a criminal lifestyle.
Blanco’s former boyfriend, Charles Cosby, disclosed that at 11, she allegedly kidnapped a child from an affluent neighborhood close to her home.
After that, she demanded a ransom, and ultimately shot the child. By her early teens, Griselda had turned to pickpocketing.
At 19, to escape the sexual abuse of her mother’s boyfriend, she fled home and resorted to theft in Medellín until she was 20.
There are also speculations that she might have engaged in prostitution to support herself financially during this time. However, Griselda consistently refuted these claims.
Griselda Blanco Arrest And Charge Details
In 1975, Blanco was charged with drug-related offenses, but it wasn’t until 1985 that she was arrested.
She received a 15-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine. Later, she faced murder charges in Florida, but the case was overshadowed by a scandal involving a key witness and a prosecutor.
Although the drug lord was suspected of committing at least 40 murders, she was only convicted of three.
She was given concurrent 20-year sentences but was deported to Colombia in 2004 after serving only a third of her sentences.
In 2004, she was released from prison on compassionate grounds and deported to Medellín due to persistent medical concerns.
In Colombia, she reportedly lived off the income from her rental properties.
On 3 September 2012, Blanco and her pregnant daughter-in-law visited the Cardoso butcher shop on the corner of 29th Street in Medellín.
As she was leaving, a motorcyclist shot her twice, resulting in her death.
Nelson Andreu, a former homicide detective who investigated Blanco in Miami, noted that it was surprising she hadn’t been killed sooner given the number of enemies she had made.
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