When Griselda Blanco founded her drug empire in MiamiSeveral drug traffickers from Medellín had her in their sights, including the Ochoa Vásquez brothers, who did not hesitate to send their partner Rafa Salazar to make her an offer of millions in exchange for the cession of their territories in the United States; Contrary to her opinion, she not only rejected the proposal, but also made it clear that her statement was implemented. Although the message was delivered to the intermediary, he did not allow a woman to get in the way of his plans, and so he began turning his own employees against him, which aroused the wrath of “The Godmother of Cocaine”. What happened to him? In the following sections we will tell you who this character was and how he died in real life.
It should be noted that as a result of Blanco's rejection of the Medellín Cartel, one of the most brutal wars broke out in Miami, and although she knew that she angered those who shouldn't have, she did not give in and had to face the consequences. and wow, that caused horror. The result: He reached a truce and became part of the cartel, as we see in the Netflix series Griselda.
Rafa smokes a cigarette in a scene from Griselda. He is played by Camilo Jiménez Varón, who does not shy away from becoming a drug dealer (Photo: Netflix)
WHO WAS RAFA SALAZAR IN REAL LIFE?
As we mentioned above, Rafa Salazar was a drug trafficker, a member of the Medellín cartel and, in turn, a representative of the Colombian criminal organization in the United States.whose mission was to expand the territory of his cartel, run by the Ocho Vásquez brothers, in the North American country.
His full name was Rafael Antonio Cardona Salazar, aka Rafico. He was born and raised in a poor neighborhood in Colombia.
He met Griselda Blanco when his associates sent him to offer the woman a sum of millions in exchange for giving her their drug control areas in the United States.. After she refused, he took it upon himself to turn his employees against her, which sparked the wrath of the Black Widow.
Rafael Salazar worked in the USA with the American-Jewish engineer Max MermelsteinWhile he oversaw the distribution of the product, his colleague was in charge of smuggling; pass on the drug without being detected; And boy, did they pull it off.
They both made a great team, Salazar trusted him because his partner was married to a Colombian, but when Mermelstein was arrested, he had no qualms about betraying anyone to protect his own skin, because he was not only a state witness, but also disclosed trade secrets that helped disrupt the entire Medellín Cartel operation in Miami, which included the arrest of Griselda Blanco.
It is more, Max said that Rafa was involved in the murder of Barry Sealan American politician who was a human trafficker and became an informant for the DEA.
Rafa Salazar smokes a cigar in a scene from “Griselda.” He was responsible for expanding the Medellín Cartel's operations in the United States (Photo: Netflix)
How did Rafa Salazar die?
When Mermelstein was arrested in 1985, Rafa Salazar hid so they don't find his whereabouts in Miami, so requested extradition. Furthermore, he had decided to switch sides and For personal reasons, disregard the Medellín Cartel in favor of the Cali Carteland that's it Jorge Luis Ochoa had started an affair with his wife, betrayal that I would not forgive. His revenge was to aid Jorge's arrest, a major blow to this criminal organization.
December 4, 1987while he was at his vintage car shop in Envigado, Antioquía Hit squad dressed like the Colombian National Army disarmed his bodyguards and They shot him with machine guns. His secretary, who was also on site, died from the impact. Rafa was 35 years old. It is said that he was murdered by the Medellín cartel.
In real life, this Rafa Salazar character switches sides: from the Medellín Cartel to the Cali Cartel (Photo: Netflix)