Juliana Aidén Martinez to Star Opposite Sofia Vergara in Netflix’s Limited Series “Griselda”

Juliana Aidén Martinez is joining the cartel…

The Colombian actress has joined the cast of Netflix’s Griselda, its upcoming limited series about real-life drug queenpin Griselda Blanco starring Sofia Vergara.

Juliana Aidén Martinez

Aidén Martinez is among 12 newly added cast members, including Alberto Guerra, Diego Trujillo, Paulina Davila, Gabriel Sloyer, Maximiliano Hernández and Julieth Restrepo.

Netflix also released a first look photo of Vergara as the lead character.

Sofia Vergara, Griselda Blanco, Griselda

The six-episode series chronicles the life of Colombian-born Blanco, who created one of the most profitable cartels in history. A devoted mother, Blanco’s lethal blend of charm and unsuspecting savagery helped her expertly navigate between family and business leading her to become widely known as the “Black Widow.”

Here’s a full list of the cast and the characters they’ll play:

Alberto Guerra (Narcos: Mexico) as “Dario”
Vanessa Ferlito as “Isabel”
Alberto Ammann (Narcos) as “Alberto Bravo”
Christian Tappan (The Great Heist) as “Arturo”
Diego Trujillo (Metastasis) as “German Panesso”
Paulina Davila (Luis Miguel) as “Carmen”
Gabriel Sloyer (Narcos) as “Diaz”
Juliana Aidén Martinez as “June”
Martin Rodriguez (Detrás de la verdad) as “Rivi”
José Zúñiga (American Crime StoryVersace) as “Amilcar”
Maximiliano Hernández (The AvengersThe Americans) as “Papo Mejia”
Julieth Restrepo as “Marta Ochoa”

Blanco burst onto the pop culture scene after her exploits were highlighted in the 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys and its sequel two years later from Billy Corben.

She was portrayed by Catherine Zeta-Jones in the Lifetime biopic Cocaine Godmother in 2018.

The series was developed by executive producers Vergara and Luis Balaguer for Latin World EntertainmentGriselda is the latest project for Eric Newman under his overall deal with Netflix.

Ingrid Escajeda will serve as co-showrunner, as well as write, and executive produce alongside Doug Miro (Narcos). Newman will also EP alongside his Narcos creative team, Andrés Baiz, and Carlo Bernard—though Griselda is unrelated to Netflix’s drug thriller franchise.

Baiz will direct all six episodes.

Raul Mendez to Star in Lifetime’s Original Movie “Cocaine Godmother”

Raul Mendez has landed a Godmother of a role…

The 42-year-old Mexican actor will star in Lifetime’s original movie Cocaine Godmother, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Raul Mendez

Directed by Guillermo Navarro, Cocaine Godmother is based on the life of Miami drug lord Griselda Blanco (Zeta-Jones), one the original “Cocaine Cowboys” who pioneered the drug trade between Colombia and the U.S. in the 70s and 80s.

Mendez will star as Dario, an associate of Pablo Escobar and Griselda’s third husband.

In addition to Mendez, the list of recent cast additions includes Jenny Pellicer (The Bridge) as Carolina, one of Griselda’s female lovers; Jose Julian (A Better Life)  as Uber, Griselda’s second-oldest son (she had 4 boys); Juan Pablo Espinosa (La Fan) as Alberto, one of Griselda’s criminal associates, and her second husband; and Warren Christie (The Catch) as Jimmy, the DEA agent who hunted her down.

Blanco was living in Queens, NY, when she became embroiled with local drug runners. After moving to Miami to expand her empire, the death of her second husband gave rise to her nickname The Black Widow. She later moved to California, was deported to Colombia and was gunned down in 2012. In her lifetime, Griselda’s drug distribution network spanned across the United States and she was suspected of ordering over 200 murders.

The film will go into production this year and premiere in 2018 on Lifetime.

Mendez’s credits include major recurring roles on Narcos and Sense8.

Cocaine Godmother is produced by Asylum Entertainment for Lifetime.

Navarro (Pan’s Labrynth, Narcos) will direct from a script written by David McKenna (American History X).