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In the family business. Griselda Blanco’s kids followed in her footsteps and one of them is trying to tell her story and her legacy.
Sofia Vergara stars and is the executive producer of Griselda which follows Blanco’s move to the United States from Colombia as she created one of the most powerful cartels in history and her great involvement in the Miami Drug War or the Cocaine Cowboy Wars. The show also stars Alberto Guerra, Christian Tappan, Martín Rodríguez, Juliana Aidén Martinez, Vanessa Ferlito, and Karol G making her on-screen debut.
Vergara talked about how she wanted to paint Blanco as a complex character who was both a matriarch in her family and cartel. “Our series dives into moments in Griselda’s life that were the catalysts for a lot of her actions. She wanted to be as powerful as she could, and she was ruthless about it. She wanted power in order to care for her family, to do everything she could for her children,” she said in a press statement. That’s something all women, especially mothers, can understand, whether we can understand the way she went about it or not. In the world she came from, she did what she knew how to do. But the truth is, only the real Griselda could tell you why she did all that she did.”
Griselda Blanco garnered the nickname “The Black Widow” because it’s rumored that she killed (or ordered to kill) all three of her husbands.
So how did Griselda Blanco’s sons die? Read on for what happened to Griselda Blanco’s sons and who’s still alive.
Dixon Trujillo is one of Griselda Blanco’s sons with Carlos Trujillo. He was born in Medellín, Colombia and moved to Miami, Florida with his family. He was involved in the family business and reportedly was arrested around the same time as his mother. Netflix portrayed his death as he targeted while returning by foot to his car. However, he reportedly outlived his mother and was living in Medellín until his unknown death.
Uber Trujillo is one of Griselda Blanco’s sons with Carlos Trujillo. Along with his brothers, he moved to Miami with his mother and was involved in the family business of drug trafficking. His death was portrayed while carrying out a drug deal. He died while his mother was serving her prison sentence.
Osvaldo Trujillo is one of Griselda Blanco’s sons with Carlos Trujillo. Like the rest of his brothers, he followed into the family business. His death was portrayed as he was in a nightclub in the Netflix series. He died before his mother was released from prison.
Michael Corleone Blanco is Griselda Blanco’s fourth son and only child with Darío Sepúlveda. He’s named after the central character in The Godfather series. Since most of his family was in jail or dead while he was growing up, he was raised by his relatives or legal guardians.
In 2012, he was arrested for cocaine trafficking, according to the Miami New Times. He was charged with trying to buy five kilos from an undercover detective using $10,000 in cash, a motorcycle, and a diamond necklace and pendant inscribed with the phrase Kill All Rats.
He was subsequently released from house arrest and starred in VH1’s Cartel Crews. He has also talked extensively about his mom in various media and has set to have a book, My Mother, The Godmother, and The True Story. “My mum had been balling since the 60s,” he told The Independent. “Pioneer s***. Never again, that s*** was crazy.”
He recalled the day he found out his mother died, “It was a call I had been dreading for years,” he said. “I’d spoken to her at two that morning. They said to me, ‘Michael, I’m standing over your mother’s dead body.’
“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.’
“But to get out of that life you have to let certain individuals know there won’t be any retributions. It was taken care of in the old country, Colombia.”
Days before the premiere of the Netflix show, Michael Corleone, identified as Michael Sepulvedablanco in the lawsuit documents, and his wife, Marie, are seeking damages “in excess of $50,000,” as well as an emergency temporary injunction to block the January 25 release of Griselda.
Michael accuses the show’s creators of using his unreleased “artistic literary work” and his likeness “to depict the life story of himself and his mother, Griselda Blanco De Trujillo” without permission or credit, according to the lawsuit obtained by Entertainment Tonight.
The family made a statement to the site: “It is beyond dispute that Griselda Blanco made the ultimate decision for Michael Blanco, her son, to carry out and benefit from her life as it relates to artistic and literary productions based on her story. Although Michael Blanco is a public figure himself with his own rights to publicity, Mr. Blanco continues to honor his mother’s executed intent. Since 2008, Michael Blanco has worked extremely hard in the entertainment industry where he conducted numerous interviews and tv shows to tell his story. He is also the outstanding author of the book entitled, “My Mother, the Godmother and the True Story of Michael Corleone Blanco the Son of Griselda Blanco.” He published this book in an attempt to fulfill his mother’s wishes and tell the world the intimate details about his life and that of his mother, Griselda Blanco. It is a compelling story.
Michael Blanco was more than willing to share his hard work and the nonpublic details of his mother’s life with Latin World Entertainment/Netflix if he was to be fairly compensated. Make no mistake, Michael Blanco is humble and thrilled each and every time someone reaches out to shine light on his mother and the Blanco family. However, in the case of Netflix/Latin World Entertainment, the Defendants approached Michael Blanco to gain his work, perspective, and insight to only turn around and act like he does not exist, in an apparent attempt to reap their own profits. It is disappointing that Latin World Entertainment/Netflix would pretend that it is acceptable to use Michael Blanco’s commercial work without his permission.”
In a statement to DailyMail, he explained his reasoning for legal action, “I feel that it’s my duty to do it. And if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be keeping my word to my OG, to my mother. I’m just holding it down for the family – and I’m doing it legally.”
He continued, ‘I am a history buff so I believe that history should be told not only by the victors, but by the losers. You can call me what you want but I’m in both worlds. Some people will say, ‘You’re glorifying the lifestyle’. I glorify my mother but when you read my book and you’ll see my public apology to the masses, and to the victims of the 1970s and 1980s cocaine and crack wars. I’m apologetic because I myself am a victim… I buried 22 members of my family. I survived countless assassination’s attempts. Look at the way I lost my mother.”
A profile of bloodthirsty Colombian drug dealer Griselda Blanco, known as the “Black Widow” due to her penchant for killing off her lovers, recounts Blanco’s vicious crime spree and the ten-year struggle to bring her to justice. Court records and interviews with Drug Enforcement Administration agents, federal attorneys, Miami police and Blanco’s acquaintances flesh out a portrait of a ruthless cocaine wholesaler whose “mules” (couriers) transported drugs in women’s undergarments and shoe heels. Her propensity for violence was legendary: she bragged of murdering her husband and claimed responsibility for Miami’s “Dadeland Massacre,” a shootout in a mall parking lot that disposed of one of Blanco’s creditors.
