What happened to Griselda's sons? Everything we know about the real family from Netflix's Griselda

The Colombian crime lord was also a wife and mother, so what happened to Griselda's sons when her reign came to an end? 

Netflix viewers have been gripped by Griselda, the fictionalised dramatisation of the rise and fall of Griselda Blanco - creator of one the most powerful drug cartels in history. Known as 'the Godmother,' what set Blanco apart from many other high-profile drug kingpins is the way she balanced the savagery of managing her criminal enterprises with being a wife and mother. Her four children - Dixon Trujillo-Blanco, Uber Trujillo-Blanco, Osvaldo Trujillo-Blanco and Michael Corleone Blanco - feature heavily in the chart-topping drama, leaving viewers wondering what happened to Griselda's sons once their infamous mother was incarcerated. 

Meanwhile, fans of the show were also left asking what happened to Griselda Blanco's husbands, and elsewhere on the streamer Netflix's documentary Bad Surgeon raised questions about where Paolo Macchiarini is now, after whistleblowers revealed the truth about his operations. In other true crime news, a Channel 4 documentary covering the Kerry babies case left stunned viewers wondering what happened to Joanne Hayes, the woman falsely accused in the murder investigation. Read on to find out everything we know about what happened to Griselda Blanco's sons...

What happened to Griselda's sons?

Sadly, three of Griselda Blanco's four sons are now dead. Dixon Trujillo-Blanco, Uber Trujillo-Blanco, and Osvaldo Trujillo-Blanco are all reported to have died, and only Griselda's youngest son, Michael Corleone Blanco, is still alive.

In the final episode of the series, an incarcerated Blanco is visited by intelligence agent June Hawkins, who delivers the news of her sons' deaths. "Dixon was shot while he was walking to his car, Ozzy was in a crowded nightclub. Uber was shot in Colombia was he was making a drug deal," Blanco is told by the agent. This is likely a stylised version of Blanco being delivered the news of her children's demise, as specific details relating to their deaths aren't quite as clear.

Blanco herself was assassinated in 2012 - she had been released from prison in 2004 on compassionate grounds after suffering poor health. Residing in Medellín, Griselda Blanco was 69 when she was shot twice while leaving a butcher's shop in September 2012.

What happened to Dixon Trujillo-Blanco and Osvaldo Trujillo-Blanco?

It's understood that Dixon and Osvaldo were in jail at the same time in 1992, with The Washington Post reporting Osvaldo's death in a Colombia nightclub in the same year. When and how Uber and Dixon were killed remains a mystery.

What happened to Uber Trujillo-Blanco?

It's known that Uber was dead before his mother died in 2012, but the year of his death hasn't been disclosed. Meanwhile, a Vice article suggested Dixon was still alive at the time of Griselda's death, and was murdered sometime afterwards. However, other reports suggest all three children were dead at the time of their mother's death.  

What happened to Michael Corleone Blanco?

Michael Corleone Blanco is the only one of Griselda's children who is still alive. He is the youngest of Griselda's four children, and his father is the drug lord's third husband, Dario Sepúlveda.

As seen in the Netflix series, Michael returns to Colombia with his father after Griselda and Dario separate. Dario was then murdered in 1983 - allegedly in a hit ordered by Griselda herself - and Michael returned to the US to live with his mother in Irvine, California.

After Griselda was arrested in 1985, Michael went on to live with relatives and other guardians, according to the Miami New Times. The publication adds that he had his own run-in with the law in 2012, when he was charged with trying to buy five kilos of cocaine 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 pleaded not guilty on all counts.

Previously, Michael told the Daily Mail that he joined the family business at age nine and survived seven assassination attempts while growing up in Colombia, but that he has since left the family business.

Where is Michael Corleone Blanco now?

Michael Corleone Blanco still lives a relatively high profile life. He is a businessman and has appeared on reality TV, and he has a family of his own.

Michael is the founder of Pure Blanco, described as a 'Billionaire Cartel Lifestyle Brand,' selling clothing and accessories. He also appeared in the VH1 Cartel Crew reality series, which ran for three seasons between 2019 and 2021. His wedding was shown during one of the episodes, and he reportedly has three children. 

According to Style Caster, Michael doesn't want his children to follow the life of crime lived by his family. Recalling finding out about his mother's death, he said, "It was a call I had been dreading for years. I’d spoken to her at two that morning. They said to me, 'Michael, I’m standing over your mother’s dead body.'"

He added "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.'"

Michael is unhappy with the Netflix dramatisation of his mother's life. According to the Daily Mail, he has sought legal advice over not being specifically consulted on the details of Griselda Blanco's story. 

His lawyer told the publication, "Sofia Vergara did not consult with any members of the Blanco family as a sign of respect or elicit family details in portraying Griselda. When Michael learned of the Griselda project, we reached out to Sofia's camp and offered Michael's consultation services.

"They extended an invitation for us to sit with them to tell us there was no room on the project. Sofia’s camp and the Netflix creators were disrespectful and ultimately produced the Griselda project on their own for commercial gain, without key details from the Blanco family."

Michael added, "No matter what, you need to respect my mother enough to seek the consultation of our youngest son - her best friend that visited her five times a week during her 23 years incarceration."

Griselda: Balancing motherhood and business

Griselda makes an unusual drug lord, because of her gender. Despite societal stereotypes of women and mothers as gentle and nurturing, she was known for being just as ruthless and terrifying as her male counterparts, able to commit acts as brutal as those known by the likes of Pablo Escobar. 

Born into poverty, Blanco entered the world of crime at the age of 11. Sofia Vergara spoke to The Wrap about her fascination with a woman balancing being a mother and building a drugs empire. She said, "I started realising that this woman was not just a woman who was part of the cartels, or part of the narco traffic business. She was the narco traffic business. She was raising four kids and could be as brutal as these narco men."

Having been forced into crime for survival, the birth of three of her sons before the age of 21 possibly fuelled Blanco's need to do whatever it took to provide for her family. According to Harper's Bazaar, Sofia Vergara said "It is important to remember who Griselda was early on in her life. She was an immigrant raising three kids completely alone. She had nothing - no education or tools to survive."

The actress concluded "This is why I wanted to play Griselda. She is a mother, villain, lover, and killer all at the same time. She above everyone shows how complex humans can be."

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