The case of fugitive Assata Shakur, also known as Joanne Chesimard, is prompting debate on whether the two countries’ renewed cooperation will have any bearing on particular cases that deal with Americans seeking political asylum in Cuba.
Following Obama’s announcement last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie seized the opportunity to assert in a letter to the White House that Chesimard should be returned to the states. She is believed to be living in Cuba after Fidel Castro granted her asylum there. Chesimard was convicted in 1973 of murdering a New Jersey state trooper during a gun battle.
While an extradition law between the two countries specifies that the government can return a person on the basis of a murder conviction, experts note that it’s speculative to believe Cuba will usher in a policy change on asylum.
Josefina Vidal, who is Cuba’s head of North American Affairs, told the AP that Cuba, like other countries, has a “legitimate right” to respond to the U.S.’ asylum requests on a case-by-case basis.
"We've explained to the US government in the past that there are some people living in Cuba to whom Cuba has legitimately granted political asylum," she said. "Every nation has sovereign and legitimate rights to grant political asylum to people it considers to have been persecuted…. That's a legitimate right.”
The U.S. government believes there are at least 70 people wanted by its law enforcement living in Cuba, according to a report in the New York Times. In the past, it’s not been unusual for refugees in the states to seek asylum with countries like Cuba because of their stressed bilateral ties.
The U.S. has granted asylum to Cuban refugees, including many considered by Havana to be political dissidents. In 2013 alone, the US admitted 26,407 Cubans as refugees or asylees.
Christie believes that President Barack Obama should have requested Chesimard’s return. In the letter he sent to the administration, the Governor charges that the lack of such a request is an insult to the country, "…an affront to every resident of our state, our country, and in particular, the men and women of the New Jersey State Police, who have tirelessly tried to bring this killer back to justice."
FBI’s Most Wanted
Chesimard was named by the FBI as one of the top ten “most wanted terrorists” in 2013.
The charge stems from her involvement with the Black Panther Party and her leadership position in the Black Liberation Army, which is considered a militant nationalist group.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are still being debated. What is known is that shortly after she was stopped with two others by New Jersey police in 1973, a gun confrontation ensued.
She was eventually arrested and convicted of murder in 1977. With assistance, possibly from the Black Liberation Party, Chesimard managed to escape from prison. Fidel Castro granted her asylum in 1984.
Chesimard wrote on her website that she was an “escaped slave.” She further noted that she was forced to flee because of government persecution, which she attributed to political repression because of her activist role.
The U.S. National Security Counsel told the Miami Herald that the government will “continue to press for the return of U.S. fugitives in Cuba to pursue justice for the victims of their crimes in our engagement with the Cuban government.”
