June Hawkins was a Miami police homicide detective who was a central figure in catching Griselda Blanco and convicting her of drug trafficking and murder charges. Hawkins worked on Blanco’s case and saw through the conviction. A fluent Spanish speaker, her language skills made her one of the key members of the team that investigated Griselda’s crimes and deeds.
According to The Mirror US, June Hawkins was born in Miami and moved to Florida to study criminal justice. She moved back after her education at Florida State University. Hawkins applied to the Miami Police Department when she heard that they were looking to hire Spanish speakers. At first, she was assigned the job of an intelligence analyst. She was asked to translate for the male detectives as they interacted with Spanish-speaking people. Most of the witnesses the officers had to interact with were of Cuban or Latin descent.
In 1980, over 135,000 Cubans reportedly migrated to the US. Many of them were also involved with criminal gangs, drug trafficking, and contract killing, as per BBC. Griselda Blanco actively recruited these immigrants and employed them as Pistoleros, hitmen who shot targets from running motorcycles. The Cuban descent of these ground-level executives made it difficult for mostly white male officers to extract data from them.
At the time when June Hawkins was working with the Miami Police Department, Blanco was one of the most wanted drug traffickers and criminals in the underworld. She is known to have been one of the richest and most powerful women in the world by the end of the 1980s and was widely feared by rival cartels. She allegedly oversaw the trafficking of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine during her prime time.
How did June Hawkins help catch Griselda Blanco?
During the Miami drug wars, June Hawkins made an elaborate report about the important people involved in the murders and trafficking that prevailed in the city. Her report also included Griselda Blanco, who was only considered an underdog in the underworld until then. In the mid-1970s, Hawkins began her thorough investigation that led to the capture and conviction of Griselda Blanco.
On February 17, 1985, Blanco was arrested and also found guilty of the importing, manufacturing, and distribution of cocaine. She was also charged with three counts of second-degree murder. Blanco spent around twenty years in prison. During her time in jail, three of her children were killed. She was released in 2004 and began living a quiet life away from the world of crime.
June Hawkins, despite carrying out elaborate research and investigation that led to Blanco’s sentencing, reportedly only met the Colombian drug lord once. The Mirror US reported that according to Vanity Fair, after she was shifted to a different division that required her to work in criminal intelligence, Hawkins was informed that Griselda Blanco was brought down to the office. The two women reportedly did not have a single verbal conversation, but Hawkins only observed her from a distance and noticed a tired, old Griselda Blanco sitting at a desk. June Hawkins retired in 2014 and lives with her husband in Nashville, Tennessee.
Netflix’s latest original crime-drama series, Griselda, sees Sofia Vergara as Griselda Blanco and Juliana Aidén Martinez as June Hawkins. The six-episode series premiered on the streaming platform on January 25, 2024, and was positively received.
