Griselda Blanco, a former Colombian drug trafficker nicknamed the "queen of cocaine," has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the city of Medellin, media reports citing local officials said on Monday.
Blanco, 69, was reportedly shot dead by two gunmen on motorcycle as she was leaving a butcher shop in the neighborhood of Belen. Local authorities have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind her murder.
Blanco came into prominence in the 1970s, and is said to be one of the first Colombians to engage in large-scale smuggling of cocaine to the United States. She is believed to have pioneered the concept of killing her rivals by using hitmen on motorbikes.
Although Blanco established several smuggling routes to the United States, they were later taken over by rival cartels after she was jailed by a U.S. court on drug trafficking charges as well as three counts of murder in 1985. She returned to Colombia in 2004 after spending nearly 20 years in a U.S. prison.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.