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Carmen in Griselda is a key character who helped the authorities nab the titular drug lord. Netflix’s biographical crime thriller on the Black Widow, the godmother of the Colombian drug mafia, presents Carmen Gutierrez as a friend-turned-foe of the central character of Griselda Blanco.
Griselda is the Netflix miniseries charting the titular character's journey from poverty to one of the richest women of her time and to the fall of her empire. While the series is biographical in nature, the creators have taken liberties by dramatizing some characters and parts of the plot. As such, Carmen Gutierrez is not a real character but is based on real-life characters.
Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers and advises the reader’s discretion.
Who is Carmen in Griselda, and what happened to her?
Netflix presents Carmen in Griselda as a friend who later turns against the protagonist. As per the plot of the series, when Blanco arrives in Miami, Florida, Carmen Gutierrez welcomes her to the city and lets her stay with her. However, Carmen later realizes the truth behind Griselda’s intentions for coming to Miami, both about getting her husband killed and the drug trafficking business.
Learning about Griselda’s purpose of landing in Miami, Carmen part ways with her friend. However, later, she joins Griselda in her booming trade. Carmen provides flight tickets to Griselda’s drug traffickers to move in and out of the country safely. She also provides the Black Widow with a safe house to stash the prohibited material.
Carmen’s stash house catches the eye of the authorities, and they start by targeting the space. Griselda, on the other hand, starts suspecting her friend of betrayal and attempts to kill her. This turns the table on their relationship, and Carmen goes against Blanco.
When questioned by the authorities, Carmen eventually sides with the DEA, leading to a real betrayal. Carmen in Griselda eventually becomes one of the key witnesses in the DEA’s efforts at bringing down the godmother of the drug cartel.
Carmen in Griselda presents insight into the delicate nature of friendships and betrayals in the complex world of crime.
Who plays Carmen in Griselda, and who is the character based on?
Vanessa Ferlito plays the role of Carmen in Griselda. However, the character is loosely based on two different people who worked with the real Griselda Blanco during her reign on the drug cartel.
The series director, Andres Baiz, and co-creator Eric Neuman have admitted that the presentation and storyline have been fictionalized. Excerpts from Elaine Carey’s book titled Women Drug Traffickers: Mules, Bosses and Organized Crime speak about two sisters, Gloria and Carmen, who worked for Blanco as traffickers. Initially, Amparo Atehortua, aka Gloria Caban, started working with Blanco in New York City.
Later, her sister, Gilman Atehortua, aka Carmen Caban, living in Colombia, joined her sister. Carmen Caban was a distributor and ran a stash house. Gloria and Carmen Caban later worked closely with the DEA as witnesses, as told in Carey’s book.
While there was no Carmen Gutierrez in Griselda’s life in reality, the latter had a friend named Maria Gutierrez, as per the biography of the “Black Widow” written by Martha Soto titled La Viuda Negra. According to Soto’s book, Maria served as Blanco’s travel agent, booking tickets for all the drug lords. Maria is also known to have joined the DEA to frame the charges against Blanco.
In conclusion
Carmen in Griselda seems like a combination of Maria Gutierrez and Carmen Caban in real life. The Sofia Vergara series dropped on Netflix on January 25, 2024, with six episodes. Besides Vergara, the remaining cast includes Alberto Guerra, Vanessa Ferlito, Christian Tappan, Martin Rodriguez, and Juliana Martinez, among many others.
Griselda is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
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