Cuba has announced the death of Assata Shakur, the American-born Black militant who lived in exile for more than four decades after escaping from a U.S. prison in the late 1970s.
Shakur, born Joanne Deborah Byron and also known as JoAnne Chesimard, died in Havana on September 25, 2025, at the age of 78. In a brief statement published on its official website, the Cuban foreign ministry confirmed her passing, citing health complications and advanced age.
A prominent member of the Black Liberation Army, Shakur rose to national attention following a 1973 shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that left state trooper Werner Foerster dead. Authorities alleged that Shakur and two companions opened fire during what began as a routine traffic stop. She was convicted of murder in 1977 and sentenced to life in prison.
Throughout her trial and afterward, Shakur maintained her innocence, claiming she was unarmed with her hands raised when the shots were fired.
In 1979, she escaped from prison with the help of accomplices and vanished from public view. By 1984, U.S. officials confirmed she had been granted asylum in Cuba, where she lived openly despite repeated American demands for her extradition. Over the years, she became both a symbol of resistance to some and a wanted fugitive to others.
Tensions between Washington and Havana simmered over her case for decades. In 2013, the FBI placed Shakur on its Most Wanted Terrorists list—making her the first woman ever included—and offered a $1 million reward for information leading to her capture. More recently, in May, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized Cuba for continuing to harbor Shakur, calling her a “domestic terrorist” and renewing calls for accountability.
Shakur’s presence in Cuba reflected a broader trend during the Cold War era, when the island became a haven for radical Black activists and political dissidents fleeing U.S. prosecution. Other prominent figures, including Black Panther Party leaders Huey Newton and Eldridge Cleaver, also found temporary refuge there.
Assata Shakur remained one of the most high-profile American fugitives of her time—revered by supporters as a revolutionary icon and condemned by critics as a convicted killer who evaded justice. Her death closes a decades-long chapter in the complex history of U.S.-Cuba relations and the legacy of racial and political conflict in 20th-century America.
