Where are Griselda Blanco's children now? The Colombian crime lord was also a wife and mother, but what happened to her kids when her reign came to an end?
Netflix viewers have been gripped by Griselda, the fictionalised dramatisation of the rise and fall of Griselda Blanco - creator one of the most powerful drug cartels in history. Known as "the Godmother," what sets Blanco apart from many high profile drug kingpins, is the way she balanced the savagery of managing her criminal enterprises with being a wife and mother. Blanco's four sons feature in the true-crime drama, leaving viewers wondering what happened to them once their infamous mother was incarcerated.
True-crime fans tuning into the show were also left asking what happened to Griselda Blanco's three husbands - we reveal what we know. Netflix's documentary Bad Surgeon, raised questions about Paolo Macchiarini now - the surgeon in question, responsible for many botched surgeries. A Channel 4 documentary covering the Kerry babies case left stunned viewers wondering what happened to Joanne Hayes, the woman falsely accused in the murder investigation. Read on to find out everything we know about what happened to Griselda Blanco's children.
Where are Griselda Blanco's children now?
Sadly, three of Grisleda Blanco's four sons are dead. Dixon Trujillo-Blanco, Uber Trujillo-Blanco, and Osvaldo Trujillo-Blanco are now deceased, while youngest son Michael Corleone Blanco is still alive.
In the final episode of the series, an incarcerated Blanco is visited intelligence agent June Hawkins, who delivers the news of her sons' deaths. "Dixon was shot while he was walking to his car, Ozzy was in a crowded nightclub. Uber was shot in Colombia was he was making a drug deal," Blanco is told by the agent. This is likely a stylised version of Blanco being delivered the news of her children's demise, as specific details relating to their deaths aren't quite as clear.
It's understood that Dixon and Osvaldo were in jail at the same 1992, with The Washington Post reporting Osvaldo's death in a Colombia nightclub in the same year. When Uber and Dixon were killed remains mysterious. Blanco herself was assassinated in 2012 - she had been released from prison in 2004 on compassionate grounds after suffering poor health.
Residing in Medellín, Blanco was murdered on September 3, 2012, at the age of 69. As she left a butcher's shop, a motorcycle assassin shot her twice, resulting in her death. It's known her son, Uber was dead before his mother's death in 2012 but the year of his death hasn't been disclosed. A Vice article suggested Dixon was still alive at the time of her death, being murdered sometime afterwards. However, some reports suggest all three children were dead at the time of Blanco's death.
Where is Michael Corleone Blanco now?
Michael Corleone Blanco still lives a relatively high profile life. He is a businessman, and has appeared on reality TV - he has a family of his own.
Michael is the founder of Pure Blanco, described as a "Billionaire Cartel Lifestyle Brand," selling clothing and accessories. Since his mother’s death, Blanco has said in interviews he left the family business. He appeared in the VH1 Cartel Crew reality series, which ran for three seasons between 2019 - 2021. His wedding was shown during one of the episodes, and he reportedly has three children.
According to Style Caster, Michael doesn't want his children to follow the life of crime lived by his family. Recalling finding out about his mother's death, he said "It was a call I had been dreading for years. I’d spoken to her at two that morning. They said to me, 'Michael, I’m standing over your mother’s dead body.'"
He added "Even right now it brings tears to my eyes because I was with my boys when I got that phone call. I was teaching my youngest one how to swim. I said, 'I’m not going to let these kids live the life that I lived.'"
Michael is unhappy with the Netflix dramatisation of his mother's life. According to the Daily Mail, he has sought legal advice over not being specifically consulted on the details of Griselda Blanco's story.
His lawyer told the publication "Sofia Vergara did not consult with any members of the Blanco family as a sign of respect or elicit family details in portraying Griselda. When Michael learned of the Griselda project, we reached out to Sofia's camp and offered Michael's consultation services.
They extended an invitation for us to sit with them to tell us there was no room on the project. Sofia’s camp and the Netflix creators were disrespectful and ultimately produced the Griselda project on their own for commercial gain, without key details from the Blanco family."
Michael added "No matter what, you need to respect my mother enough to seek the consultation of our youngest son - her best friend that visited her five times a week during her 23 years incarceration."
Griselda: Balancing motherhood and business
Griselda makes an unusual drug lord, mostly down to the societal stereotypes of mothers being gentle and nurturing. Griselda was known for being just as ruthless and terrifying as her male counterparts, able to commit acts as brutal as those known by the likes of Pablo Escobar.
Born into poverty, Blanco entered the world of crime at the age of 11. Sofia Vergara spoke to The Wrap about her fascination with a woman balancing being a mother and building a drugs empire. She said "I started realising that this woman was not just a woman who was part of the cartels, or part of the narco traffic business. She was the narco traffic business. She was raising four kids and could be as brutal as these narco men."
Having been forced into crime for survival, the birth of three of her sons before the age of 21 possibly fuelled Blanco's need to do whatever it took to provide for her family. According to Harper's Bazaar, Sofia Vergara said "It is important to remember who Griselda was early on in her life. She was an immigrant raising three kids completely alone. She had nothing - no education or tools to survive."
The actress concluded "This is why I wanted to play Griselda. She is a mother, villain, lover, and killer all at the same time. She above everyone shows how complex humans can be."
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