Is Griselda based on a true story? Creators separate fact from fiction

Griselda comes to our screens courtesy of producer Eric Newman, the brains behind Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, which tells the story of Colombian drug lord Escobar.

Explaining the difference between the terrifying bosses that each show portrays, he said at a press conference: "[Her womanhood] was at the centre of everything. It’s what makes her different… Men take credit for things, men want people to know what they've done.

"And so, when we were doing Escobar, Gallardo and all of the Colombian and Mexican drug lords, there was no shortage of – often in their own words – them describing the things that they did. And it was all about conquering."

Newman continued: "Griselda, largely because she was the one who actually had the courage to be based in the United States, [was] very different.

"There's nothing more terrifying to a narco than being extradited to America, [but] she was already there during the job. She wasn't taking credit for things. As a woman, I think she knew it would be dangerous for her."

Modern Family star Sofia Vergara leads the cast as Blanco, while Juliana Aidén Martinez, Christian Tappan and more also star.

But how was the real Griselda caught and is Darío Sepúlveda still alive? Read on for everything you need to know about the true story behind Griselda, as well as what the series creators had to say about the mix of fact and fiction across the six-part series.

Is Griselda based on a true story?

Yes, the Netflix series is based on the true story of Griselda Blanco, Miami's so-called "Godmother of Cocaine".

Blanco was born in Colombia and grew up in the city of Medellín, which gained some infamy due to the local criminal activity of one Pablo Escobar.

In such a hostile environment, Blanco is reported to have turned to crime from a young age, starting with pickpocketing and theft before moving onto the profitable drug trade.

At the age of 21, she illegally immigrated to New York City to launch a successful operation, but was forced to flee the country about a decade later as authorities closed in.

Netflix's Griselda series picks up in the late 1970s, the most famous period of Blanco's reign, when she returned to the United States and set up shop on the other end of the east coast – Miami, Florida.

How accurate is Griselda?

On the accuracy of the drama, director Andres Baiz told RadioTimes.com: "We do all the research possible. We read books, we interview people, we watch documentaries – and once you have all this information, you're then going to tell this story of someone.

"But you need to ask yourself: as creators, what are we saying? What is the theme of our show? And the theme of our show is women in power, women in a man's world. So then the writing and the directing is encompassed by that theme."

He added: "So a lot of what you see in the show – a lot of characters, events, actions – are absolutely real, but we were most interested in our theme and the inner truth of those characters."

Is Darío Sepúlveda still alive?

As well as exploring Blanco's crimes, the series also explores her relationship with her four sons and her third husband, Darío Sepúlveda (played by Alberto Guerra).

In the series, we see that after falling out with Griselda, Dario took his son Michael and moved to Colombia, where he was later assassinated.

In real life, Dario was killed in 1983 – the same year he and Griselda separated – and ex-smuggler Max Mermelstein claimed he had seen the fight which caused Dario and Griselda to split.

"It took place in my living room in Davie. Dario had been running around with a topless dancer in Fort Lauderdale and Griselda found out," he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "Dario said to hell with it and that he was taking the kid to Colombia."

According the Miami New Times, Dario was murdered by men pretending to be police officers.

"Two of Griselda's pals – ex-smuggler Max Mermelstein and former hit man Jorge 'Rivi' Ayala – subsequently told law enforcement officials that she was the one who ordered the hit on her husband, who had left for Colombia with Michael and another woman," the reports stated.

Speaking of the incident, Mermelstein added: "The cops asked Dario to get out of the car. He got out and they handcuffed him, but he started to run. The cops opened fire and shot Dario right in front of the kid. Little Michael was screaming and ran over to embrace his father, but by the time he got there Dario was dead. The execution was done on the orders of Michael's mother."

However, Griselda's son Michael has said that he doesn't believe that his mother killed his father.

"Rios, Michael's confidante, vehemently denies Griselda was involved in Sepulveda's murder," the Miami New Times reported.

How was Griselda caught?

Griselda was finally arrested in February 1985, following a long investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), with agent Robert Palombo finding her in bed reading the Bible when he strode over and gave her the 'kiss of death'.

The gesture, which he claims left Griselda "bewildered", came after her evasion of justice had placed great strain on himself personally as well as the city of Miami as a whole.

In an interview with CBS News, Palombo said that the homicide rate "dropped dramatically" following her arrest, estimating "conservatively" that she ordered the deaths of between 75 and 100 people.

In light of this, he feels that her sentencing on drug trafficking charges – 15 years in prison – was overly lenient, while a later homicide trial was stunted by a scandal involving a witness, but still added a concurrent 20 years to her term.

Only seven of the latter were served, however, after a major heart attack and other health issues convinced authorities to grant Griselda compassionate release.

She was deported back to Medellín, Colombia, where she was murdered eight years later in a drive-by shooting by a helmet-wearing motorcyclist whose identity has never been determined.

Palombo concluded: "Here we have a butcher being killed in a butcher shop. By an individual who employs the very technique, the motorcycle technique, that she kind of invented."

Was June Hawkins from Griselda a real person?

One element of Netflix's Griselda that is sure to interest viewers is the role of police detective June Hawkins, who is first to understand that a spate of drug-related offences blighting Miami are being masterminded by a woman.

The male-dominated Miami police force initially considers this an unlikely possibility, with June's uphill struggle for recognition arguably mirroring Griselda's own treatment by certain men in her orbit – or at least, that's how the show depicts it.

For any viewers wondering, June Hawkins is indeed a real person, who is still alive today and was consulted by the creative team during development of this series.

Eric Newman explained: "We spent a fair amount of time with her, she was an invaluable consultant [and] resource. She did have a very similar experience – obviously, with a very different ending, June's happily married to, actually, another character in the show.

"She is a woman of Latin descent, a single mother in an almost equally male-dominated environment: law enforcement. She was underestimated and had to find her own way, using skills that the men didn't have."

Without spoiling anything, there's an emotional scene between Griselda and June towards the end of the series, which Newman admits to being a "manufactured moment" designed to lean into their aforementioned theme of womanhood.

Newman told RadioTimes.com that this invented interaction reflects their shared experience as mothers, but shouldn't be interpreted as June having any strong sympathy for or solidarity with Blanco.

He added: "I have never met a law enforcement officer or agent of either gender who truly identifies with their prey. They can't. I think it's part of the job.

"I do think that June's experiences in a similarly chauvinistic law enforcement culture helped her as a cop. I think her overcoming this certainly made her better at her job and likely helped her recognise Griselda.

"I don't get the sense that she feels any additional sympathy for Griselda, but perhaps a little bit of empathy, a little bit of understanding of the things you need to do to protect your children and provide for your children."

Did Pablo Escobar know Griselda Blanco?

“The only man I was ever afraid of was a woman named Griselda Blanco," Escobar once said of Griselda.

While the quote suggests that Escobar knew of Blanco, it's not known exactly what the extent of their relationship was.

Speaking about what set Blanco apart from Escobar, Newman said: "[Her womanhood] was at the centre of everything. It’s what makes her different… Men take credit for things, men want people to know what they've done.

"And so, when we were doing Escobar, Gallardo and all of the Colombian and Mexican drug lords, there was no shortage of – often in their own words – them describing the things that they did. And it was all about conquering."

Newman continued: "Griselda, largely because she was the one who actually had the courage to be based in the United States, [was] very different... She wasn't taking credit for things. As a woman, I think she knew it would be dangerous for her."

Griselda is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.