Negra- Griselda Blanco — La Viuda

Her entry into the high-stakes world of cocaine came through her second husband, Alberto Bravo. Together, they established a trafficking operation in Queens, New York, during the early 1970s. When federal authorities caught on, Blanco fled back to Colombia, only to return to the U.S. years later—this time targeting Miami. Why "La Viuda Negra"?

In 1979, her hitmen engaged in a brazen daytime shootout at a liquor store, an event that signaled the start of the "Cocaine Cowboy Wars". La Viuda Negra- Griselda Blanco

Born in 1943 in Cartagena, Colombia, Blanco’s criminal trajectory began in the slums of Medellín. Reports of her early years paint a picture of extreme violence: at just 11 years old, she reportedly kidnapped a child and murdered him after a ransom was not paid. By her teens, she had turned to pickpocketing and prostitution to survive, eventually marrying Carlos Trujillo, a small-time criminal who fathered her first three sons. Her entry into the high-stakes world of cocaine

In the annals of organized crime, names like Pablo Escobar and Al Capone dominate the headlines. Yet, lurking in the bloody shadows of the 1970s and 80s was a woman whose ruthlessness rivaled them all. Her name was Griselda Blanco Restrepo, but history remembers her by a chilling moniker: —The Black Widow. years later—this time targeting Miami