Papo in Griselda: Where is he now and what really happened to him?

Papo in Griselda is a key antagonist who frequently locks horns with the Cocaine Godmother herself, but what happened to Papo Mejia in real life? 

Since the release of Griselda on Netflix, viewers have been desperately trying to separate the fact from the fiction and find out what really happened to key characters such as Carmen Guttierez, June Hawkins and Chucho in Griselda.

Papo Mejia, one of Griselda Blanco's many enemies in the show has also become of interest to viewers who want to know more about his life - and death... As his demise in the show was rather barbaric, fans are curious to know, what happened to Papo in Griselda in real life? Here's what we know...

What happened to Papo?

In episode two of Griselda, Griselda and Arturo go to meet with Amilcar to discuss a cocaine deal for 10 kilos. Papo Mejia makes a surprise appearance at this meeting and is angered with Griselda who is his competition and trying to take over his supply. 

While Griselda is hosting a party with prostitutes and customers of a yacht, Papo and his men show up with guns to tell her to stop selling on their territory. However, Griselda has the last laugh as she taunts him to shoot her in front of her rich guests and suffer the consequences. At that moment, Panesso decides to be her partner as she likes how much she is stirring things up and threatening Amilcar's business. However, Panesso soon betrays Griselda once Amilcar's arrested and Papo takes over.

In retaliation, Griselda sends a hitman and Chucho to cut off Papo's head, plus the heads of his family members and set off an explosive at his father's house. Effectively end the competition between them. But did this really happen? What actually happened to Papo is rather different than what we saw in the series...

Where is Papo from Griselda now?

In real life, Griselda made several unsuccessful attempts on Papo Mejia's life. Billy Corben, the director of the movie Cocaine Cowboys, spoke to NPR about the details surrounding Griselda's gruesome attempted murder of Papo.

"One [crime] that I think about quite often occurred at the Miami International Airport in the middle of the afternoon in the international terminal. In fact, it was a man by the name of Papo Mejia, who she was in an ongoing battle with. And Papo Mejia - they got word - was returning from Colombia, where he had just done battle with some of Griselda's hitmen." 

Billy continued, "He came off a flight from Colombia into the Miami International Airport. And Griselda Blanco had sent a man by the name of Miguel Perez. And she had given him a vintage World War II bayonet, and it was her desire that Papo be stabbed in the middle of the Miami International Airport as he was coming through Customs. And her reasoning, according to people who were there at the time, was that the man was a pig, and she wanted him stabbed like a pig."

However, Papo survived this attempt on his life and wasn't killed by Perez and was actually arrested in February 1983. According to DMT he was sentenced to 30 years but was released in 2000 and never heard from again. It's entirely possible Papo Mejia is alive today and living a quiet life as an old man away from cartel life.