What happened to Griselda Blanco, played by Sofía Vergara in the new Narcos-like Netflix series? The ‘godmother of cocaine’ has a Lifetime film too, but the new show focuses on her life in Miami

Jan 31, 2024

Sofía Vergara plays real-life drug lord Griselda Blanco in new Netflix series, Griselda. Photos: Associated Press, Florida Department of Corrections

The ‘godmother of cocaine’ was previously depicted in the documentary Cocaine Cowboys and Lifetime’s Cocaine Godmother, while the Modern Family star executive produced the new show

The real-life drug lord pioneered smuggling techniques such as creating lingerie with pockets for cocaine in her native Colombia, and was eventually jailed for murder

Sofía Vergara is taking on a career-defining role in Griselda, a new Netflix series about the infamous drug lord Griselda Blanco, released on January 25. Her story might remind viewers of the crime drama series Narcos, except it happened in real life.

Blanco was also known as the “godmother of cocaine” or simply “the godmother” due to her standing in the drug trade. The Netflix series focuses on one specific part of her life: the late 1970s and 1980s in Miami. Her story was previously depicted in the documentary Cocaine Cowboys and the Lifetime film Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story.

Blanco was a pivotal figure in the cocaine trade. The Miami Herald reported that she got her start picking pockets in her younger years before eventually selling marijuana after moving to New York. Finally, she pivoted to the easier-to-transport cocaine. Per the publication, she pioneered smuggling techniques that included, in one notable instance, having a lingerie shop in Medellín, Colombia design custom pieces with pockets to hold cocaine.

Griselda Blanco (right) is known as “the godmother of cocaine”. Photo: @taemoney434/Instagram

Vergara is also executive producing the fictionalised portrayal of Blanco’s life, which features representations of her associates like Jorge “Rivi” Ayala.

So what happened to the drug lord in real life?

Griselda Blanco did jail time in the United States

Griselda Blanco, the “godmother of cocaine”, was arrested in 1985. Photo: @historyphotographed/Instagram

Blanco was named in a 1975 indictment charging her and 37 others with manufacturing, importing and distributing cocaine in the United States. A warrant for her arrest was issued in May 1975, but she wasn’t formally apprehended until February 1985.