I. FACTUAL SUMMARY
Griselda Blanco, a.k.a. “The Cocaine Godmother”, was a woman whose crime reign was unprecedented in American history. She was truly the godmother of the of the cocaine racket in the United States during the 70s and 80s. She practically pioneered the cocaine trade in Miami, and not only that, she even ordered over 200 homicides in California, Colombia, Florida and New York (Matt). For decades, Blanco has also been credited by the media and law enforcement as the pioneer of the motorcycle assassination technique that she imported from Colombia to South Florida. The authorities accuse Blanco for developing Miami into the homicide capital of the United States in 80s.
Griselda Blanco made a vast amount of money from her cocaine empire. She had built whole communities around and in Miami using that money. Griselda Blanco introduced various innovative business methods and techniques during her reign as the Cocaine Godmother. The Dade County Shopping Mall Massacre was orchestrated by her in 1979, killing four people (Ovalle). Blanco is known for ordering hits easily and whimsically. Griselda Blanco lived an illicit and violent life, and ultimately on September 3, 2012 she was gunned down in Colombia where she had been deported in 2004, in the same motorcycle assassination technique she had pioneered (Matt; Ovalle).
II. BUSINESSES
In the 70s and 80s, Blanco was the head of a refined cartel that was responsible for bringing large amounts of cocaine into the United States. Through an intricate distribution network that started in South Florida, the criminal cartel headed by Blanco vastly spread the U.S. cocaine trade. During the period in which her empire was at the peak, her cartel was bringing in almost 3,400 pounds of cocaine into the country every month. Apart from living the life of a cocaine godmother, she mercilessly and remorselessly ordered multiple violent attacks and murders, all the while plotting the course of the infamous drug wars of Miami. According to authorities, at least forty hits were ordered by her between New York and Miami, although she was accused and charged for only three of them. Overall, less than 20 years of her life were spent in prison for drug trafficking and murder, and in 2004 she was deported to Colombia.
Drug trafficking is a global illegal trade in which psychoactive substances, such as cocaine, are illegally distributed and sold although they are prohibited by the law. Currently, refined cocaine is principally produced and distributed from Colombia, and a huge majority, i.e. 70%, of that cocaine is exported to the United States market. In 1999, approximately 520 metric tons of cocaine, which represents approximately 80% of the cocaine produced in the world, is refined in Colombia (U.S. Department of State). Various methods and routes are used by traffickers to export cocaine to the United States, which is still the largest and most reliable market for the Colombian narcotics trade. Almost 70% of the cocaine shipments are smuggled into the United States through Mexico ("International Drug Trade" 14). Drug-related violence between and within drug cartels, and the murder of innocents is very common in the world of illicit drug trafficking.
III. THEORY
There are a number of reasons why drug dealers enter the drug trafficking business. Perhaps one of the reasons is that less investment is needed (Akerstrom, 1985:51). There are apparently two social theories that explain why Griselda Blanco became involved in drug trafficking. The anomie theory was extended by Émile Merton, a French sociologist 1938, which suggests that “organized crime is a normal response to pressures exerted on certain persons by the social structure” (Abadinsky) and it stems from pathological materialism. According to this theory an individual wants to achieve certain goals but through deviant means, such as drug trafficking, in Blanco’s case. Of course, the goal that Blanco wanted to achieve was to become rich since she was born to a poor family. She became involved in pick pocketing at a very early age, and she even kidnapped a child for ransom from his rich parents and later shot him.
The Differential Association theory also seems to suggest how Griselda Blanco might have became involved in drug trafficking. According to this theory, “all behavior—lawful and criminal—is learned” (Abadinsky ). Blanco started working on the streets of Colombia as a prostitute when she was only 13 (Villarreal), after running away from home because of her abusive mother. Of course, she became involved in the wrong company from a very early age and apparently at such a young age she was introduced to the world of drug trafficking. Thus, Blanco ‘learned’ the ins and outs of drug trafficking and combined with the pressures exerted by the social structure surrounding her; she became motivated to establish her own cocaine empire, which led her to become the Cocaine Godmother.
IV. LAW ENFORCEMENT'S RESPONSE
On April 30, 1975, Griselda Blanco and 37 others were indicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on the charges of important and distributing cocaine in the United States ("http://gangstersinc.ning.com"). As warrant was issued for Blanco’s arrest as soon as the indictment that had been filed was returned. Charles Cecil, a special agent of the DEA started tracking the whereabouts of Blanco, who was living in the Colombia at that time. In 1974, another warrant was issued for Blanco’s arrest, and a fugitive report was also issued on Blanco by the DEA. In 1977 rumors started spreading that Blanco had been shot dead in Miami. During the pre-1982 period, the United States had made two extradition requests to the government of Colombia to surrender Blanco, both of which were denied. Ultimately, DEA agents arrested Blanco in 1985 in Irvine, California.
The jury trial of Griselda Blanco lasted from June 25, 1985 to July 9, 1985. Carmen Caban, a government witness who was a former drug dealer, testified against Blanco on behalf of the prosecution. Blanco was convicted by the jury on one country of conspiring to manufacture import and distribute cocaine in the United States. Blanco was fined and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Earlier, Blanco had been denied a speedy trial, which Blanco argued was her right under the sixth amendment. The government perseveringly tried to bring Blanco to trial, while she did her best to avoid prosecution by presenting several different arguments and claims against the court of law. Eventually, the judgment of the district court was affirmed. In 2004, Blanco was deported to Colombia after being released from prison after a case against her collapsed because of technicalities (Trumbore).
V. OPTIONAL
After Griselda Blanco was gunned down in Colombia in 2012, it was being widely reported that she had “cut her ties to organised crime” ("theweek.co.uk") after she returned to Colombia in 2004. This apparently alludes to the fact that the crimes that Blanco committed, especially her illustrious drug traffic reign, were in fact organized crime. It has always been tricky to define the concept of organized crime since various aspects of the problem are approached in different ways by different people and countries. Essentially, organized crime actually denotes the method or process in which crimes are committed Beare. Organized crime can be defined as the process in which criminal activities, such as the supplying of narcotics like cocaine are committed by a criminal within a transnational arena. Another characteristic of organized crime is that the crimes involved are committed by an enterprise of criminals.
Keeping these characteristics of organized crime in mind, I personally believe that Griselda Blanco’s crimes were organized and that she was an organized criminal. It is a well-known fact that was a drug lord and the head of the Medellín drug cartel and a drug cartel is a criminal organization, or in other words a criminal enterprise. Moreover, she had indeed committed crimes within a transnational arena. The Cocaine Godmother was the head of the illicit drug trade from Colombia to the United States. Perhaps it can be argued that the murders ordered by Blanco were more personal or probably professional, but they were still a part of her organized crime streak. Thus, I believe that Griselda Blanco is one of the most illustrious criminal figures involved in organized crime.
Work Cited
"Godmother Griselda Blanco shot to death in Colombia."http://gangstersinc.ning.com. Gangsters Inc., 4 2012. Web. 26 Nov 2012.
"'Queen of Cocaine' Griselda Blanco shot down in Colombia." theweek.co.uk. The Week, 4 2012. Web. 26 Nov 2012.
Akerstrom, M. 1985. Crooks and Squares. New Brunswick: Transaction Books.
Beare, M.E. Criminal conspiracies: organised crime in Canada. Canada: Nelson, 1996.
International Drug Trade. London: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print.
Matt, Roberts. "`Cocaine Godmother’ Griselda Blanco gunned down in Colombia." examiner.com. examiner.com, 4 2012. Web. 26 Nov 2012.
Ovalle, David. "“Cocaine godmother” Griselda Blanco gunned down in Colombia." miamiherald.com. The Miami Herald, 3 2012. Web. 26 Nov 2012.
Trumbore, Dave. "Life Rights of Notorious Drug Lord, Griselda Blanco, Optioned for Biopic THE GODMOTHER." collider.com. collider.com, 3 2012. Web. 26 Nov 2012.
U.S. Department of State. ureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Villarreal, Ryan . "Colombian Drug Lord Griselda Blanco's Life Of Violence Comes Full Circle." ibtimes.com. International Business Times, 4 2012. Web. 26 Nov 2012.
