Crime House True Crime Stories

Episode: True Crime This Week: Cartel Crimes

Host: Vanessa Richardson
Date: August 31, 2025

Episode Overview

This week’s episode dives deep into two notoriously brutal cartel crimes that share the date September 3, separated by three years and thousands of miles—but united by the reach and ruthlessness of the drug trade:

1. The 2012 assassination of Griselda Blanco, "The Godmother of Cocaine" in Medellin, Colombia.
2. The 2009 massacre at a drug rehab center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where cartel gunmen murdered 18 recovering addicts.

Vanessa Richardson expertly weaves these cases to shed light on the evolution and violence of the transnational drug trade, from kingpins in Miami and Medellin to foot soldiers terrorizing border towns.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Life and Demise of Griselda Blanco, “The Godmother” (00:55–38:24)

Griselda’s Early Years (05:10–08:30)

• Born in 1943 amid Colombia’s post-assassination chaos ("La Violencia").
• Endured poverty, domestic abuse, and exposure to rampant street violence.
• At 11, she committed her first murder during a bungled kidnapping:

  “She put the barrel of the gun up to the young boy’s head and pulled the trigger. This was the first of many, many, many murders she’d be involved in throughout her life.” (07:46, Vanessa)

Rise to Power: Queenpin of Cocaine (08:30–15:23)

• Married Carlos Trujillo; emigrated to New York, then married Alberto Bravo.
• Innovated using women with custom-tailored lingerie for smuggling cocaine.
• Grew from a small smuggling operation to moving 1.5 tons of cocaine a month—earning $10 million/week.
• Inspired by The Godfather, dubbed herself “The Godmother.”
• Killed her husband Alberto in a shootout, taking full control:

  “Griselda pulled out a gun and shot Alberto in the head, sparking a brief but deadly shootout… When the shooting stopped, Griselda was wounded, and six bodyguards lay dead in the street, along with Alberto.” (13:43, Vanessa)

Miami’s Cocaine Wars & Griselda’s Reign (15:23–23:57)

• Relocated to Miami, expanded her empire, fueling the city’s infamous “Cocaine Wars.”
• Ordered at least 200 murders; innovative “motorcycle drive-by” killings became her deadly signature.
• Notable anecdote: after her hitmen killed a rival’s child, she “was glad the child had died because it meant her rival was suffering.” (17:26, Vanessa)
• Paranoia and violence extended to family: orchestrated the murder of her third husband, Dario Sepulveda, abducted their son.

Arrest and Imprisonment (23:57–38:24)

• After a decade on the run, arrested in California (1985), convicted on old trafficking charges.
• Even from prison, Griselda ran her empire, developing a relationship with young drug dealer Charles Cosby—who became her lover, and business proxy.
  • Quote:

    “Godmother, I think you’re the greatest queen to ever sit on the throne. I’ve admired you since I first heard of you. I appreciate you, and I salute you for being a real woman.” (27:12, Charles Cosby’s letter read by Vanessa)

• Survived a failed murder prosecution due to a scandal involving prosecution witnesses and secretaries, leading to case dismissal (31:57).
• Ultimately, pleaded guilty to reduced murder charges; sentenced to additional prison time, but released on compassionate grounds in 2004 after a heart attack.

Final Years and Assassination (38:12–38:24)

• Returned to Medellin, lived quietly for eight years—until killed in a motorcycle drive-by, ironically the very method she pioneered.
  • Quote:

    “Her distraught companion ran to her side, placing a small Bible on Griselda’s chest as she bled to death. It was an ironic end for a woman who had once been called the Black Widow, the godmother of cocaine and la dama de la Mafia, the Lady of the Mafia.” (05:39, Vanessa)

• Legacy: Her son Michael now runs a legal cannabis business, with a weed strain named after her.

2. The Ciudad Juarez Rehab Massacre (2009) (39:27–end)

The Massacre (39:27–41:10)

• September 3, 2009: masked gunmen stormed a drug treatment center, herded 20 residents into the courtyard, and executed 18.
  • Victims included multiple members of one family, including a 16-year-old and a recovering marijuana addict.
• Incident sent shockwaves even in violence-plagued Juarez, highlighting new depths of cartel brutality.

Origins of Mexico’s Cartel Wars (41:10–46:00)

• A history of cross-border drug trafficking, flourishing due to American demand.
• Guadalajara cartel split in 1989, spawning the Tijuana, Juarez, and Sinaloa cartels.

• While peace held in the ’90s, violence erupted in the 2000s after President Calderon launched a military crackdown.

  *“The government refused to stop and was able to get major cartel figures off the streets, but taking out the kingpins led to brutal clashes between rival cartels as they tried to fill the resulting power vacuums.”* (43:46, Vanessa)
  

The Dark Side of Rehab Clinics (46:00–49:44)

• Official neglect led to proliferation of unregulated, vulnerable rehab clinics.
• Cartels infiltrated, used them as recruitment centers or safe houses.
• Rivalries turned clinics into massacre targets:
  • “Patients who went through cartel-run rehab programs were taught that God had blessed the organizations and that killing on behalf of a cartel was a divine act.” (48:21, Vanessa)
• The 2009 Aliviani clinic massacre was just one of five that year.

Aftermath and Unraveling (49:44–51:50)

• 2012: police caught Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez (“El Diego”), leader of the Juarez cartel, who confessed to ordering over 1,500 murders, including the rehab center massacre.

• El Diego’s admission: rival cartel members were using the clinic, prompting the wholesale killing.

  *“He ordered the attack on the clinic because he’d heard members of the rival Sinaloa cartel were there… So he gave the order to massacre everyone inside. To him, it was just the cost of doing business.”* (50:56, Vanessa)
  

The War’s Lingering Legacy (51:50–end)

• Despite a declared end to the “war on cartels” in 2019, violence persists:

  “In 2024, the country reported more than 30,000 cartel related homicides, a slight drop from the 33,000 a year at the height of the drug war.” (52:41)

• Reflection:

  “Looking back at this week in crime history, we can see that the drug trade is a cutthroat business. With so much money at stake, the only way to get ahead and make your fortune is to be more brutal than everybody else.” (53:16, Vanessa)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Griselda’s Legacy:

  “Griselda Blanco had climbed from the lowest rungs of society to the top. She’d become rich, famous, feared and respected. She lived much longer and more comfortably than many of her fellow dealers and kingpins. And she left behind an enduring legacy.”
  (38:12, Vanessa)

• On Cycle of Violence:

  “The only way to get ahead and make your fortune is to be more brutal than everybody else.”
  (53:16, Vanessa)

• Motorcycle Drive-By Trend:

  “To this day, some Latin American countries still ban two men from riding on a motorcycle together.”
  (18:52, Vanessa)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Episode Introduction & Theme Overview: 00:55
• Griselda Blanco’s Story Begins: 05:10
• Inventing the Smuggling Lingerie: 10:45
• Cocaine Wars and Miami Murder Explosion: 17:26
• Killing of Dario Sepulveda in Colombia: 20:48
• Griselda’s Arrest and Affair with Charles Cosby: 25:37
• Failed JFK Jr. Kidnapping Plot: 29:29
• Case Dismissed Due to Prosecutorial Scandal: 31:57
• Release and Assassination in Medellin: 38:12
• Juarez Rehab Clinic Massacre: 39:27
• Rise of Cartel Violence and Fragmentation: 41:10
• Cartel Infiltration of Rehab Clinics: 47:35
• Capture and Confession of “El Diego”: 49:44
• Reflection and Ongoing Carnage in Mexico: 51:50

Tone and Style

Vanessa Richardson maintains a methodical, narrative-driven style: vivid, detailed, and briskly paced. She crafts the gruesome and tragic details with journalistic gravity—never sensationalizing, but never flinching from the brutality.

Summary

This episode offers a sweeping, chilling look at the evolution of cartel violence, using the stories of Griselda Blanco and the Juarez rehab massacre to exemplify the ruthless logic of the drug trade, its devastating human cost, and the legacy of violence it leaves behind. Vanessa Richardson grounds her narratives in both personal and societal context, leaving listeners with a stark understanding of the subject’s ongoing relevance in crime history.