Griselda Blanco, a former Colombian drug lord who is considered a pioneer of the large scale trafficking of cocaine into the United States in the 70s, was shot and killed Monday in the Belen area of Medellin, the capital of Colombia’s Antioquia province. Authorities say Blanco, 69, was leaving a butcher shop with her pregnant daughter-in-law when a gunman on a motorcycle shot her in the head twice. Blanco’s daughter-in-law was not wounded in the attack.
Police say the motive for the shooting is unclear. According to her family, Blanco has not been involved in any type of organized crime since at least 2004. No arrests have been made.
Blanco is credited with setting up some of the first drug smuggling routes between Colombia and the United States and was a key player in Miami’s “Cocaine Cowboy Wars” in the late 70s and early 80s. Her ruthless style of leadership led to her becoming known as the “Godmother of Cocaine.” Blanco spent two decades in an American prison after being convicted of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine in 1985. She was released and deported to Colombia in 2004.
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