Dario Sepúlveda in Griselda: What happened to her third husband in real life?

Here's what you need to know about Dario Sepúlveda from Griselda, and whether he was really killed by the Cocaine Godmother in real life.

Of Griselda Blanco's three husbands, the Netflix series Griselda paid the most attention to her relationship with her third husband, Dario Sepúlveda. The show depicted their loyal, supportive, and violent relationship throughout the show which ended in a bloody murder. But how much of this is accurate? Here's what you need to know about Dario Sepúlveda.

What happened to Dario Sepúlveda?

Dario is a key part of the Netflix series Griselda and in real life and in the show was Griselda's third husband who she married in 1978. 

Griselda's fourth and youngest son, Michael Corleone Blanco, a name inspired by The Godfather, was Dario's son and it was his birth that was key to the end of their marriage. In the show, Dario and Griselda began to grow apart after the birth of Michael as Dario believed she was an unfit mother and was too focused on her cocaine business and her own addictions to care properly for her youngest son.

In the fifth episode during Dario's birthday party, Griselda walks in on him innocently chatting with her assistant upstairs. This leads her to fly into a rage and take it out on her guests who she assaults and holds at gunpoint. Dario reveals he was talking to her assistant about what a terrible mother she is. 

Soon after this interaction, Dario takes Michael and moves back to Colombia to his mother's home. He is then assassinated outside of his house and Michael is snatched by Griselda's men and brought back to the US so he can visit Griselda in prison. 

But how much of this is accurate? Did Griselda Blanco really have Dario Sepúlveda killed?

Where is Dario Sepúlveda now?

Dario Sepúlveda was killed in 1983 in Medellín after his assassination was ordered by his ex-wife Griselda Blanco. This was the same year that he and Griselda separated. 

The Miami New Times reported that Dario was killed 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." reported the paper. 

"I witnessed the the fight that broke them up," said Griselda's former employee Max Mermelstein told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "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."

"Dario said to hell with it and that he was taking the kid to Colombia," said Max. He then explained that taking her son was the final straw and Griselda then ordered an assassination to have her husband killed in front of her youngest son. 

"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," Max said. "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."

Griselda's son, Michael, has maintained that he doesn't believe that his mother killed his father. The Miami New Times reported, "Rios, Michael's confidante, vehemently denies Griselda was involved in Sepulveda's murder.

What happened to Griselda and Dario's son Michael?

Unlike the rest of Griselda Blanco's children, Michael lived away from the cocaine business and is now married and has children. However, with his father killed when he was a child and his mother shot dead in 2012 and in prison for most of his life, his childhood was disruptive.

"For most of his childhood and teenage years, Michael bounced around, living with relatives or legal guardians, according to Rios. He lived in relative anonymity, steering clear of trouble and his family's original line of work," The Miami New Times reported.

As of 2024, Michael is 45 years old and is married to Marie Ramirez Blanco. In 2019, the couple starred in a reality series Cartel Crew, which followed the descendants of cartel leaders. In the reality show, he revealed there had been two assassination attempts taken on his life.

Michael and his family have also objected to the creation of the Netflix series Griselda. A statement on social media from Marie Ramirez Blanco read, "The Blanco family is in no way associated or connected to the promotional project 'Griselda' set to air on Netflix. Michael Corleone Blanco, nor any other member of the Blanco family have been consulted or have taken any part in the 'Griselda' project."