We previously reported the plans to release a movie that alleges that Tupac Shakur is still alive; now Tupac’s Godmother Assata Shakur also has some level of controversy surrounding her.
Gustavo Machin, the deputy director of American affairs at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs; told Yahoo News that he has no intention of returning Joanne Chesimard, more notably as Assata Shakur, to the United States.
“I can say it is off the table,” Machin said.
Last Friday, President Trump demanded the communist country return Assata Shakur while delivering his Cuba address in Miami, Florida. Trump referred to Shakur as a “cop killer,” alluding to her 1977 conviction for killing a New Jersey state trooper; and escaping from a U.S. prison.
Officials in New Jersey, led by Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Bob Menendez, have called for Assata Shakur’s release before the U.S. further normalize relations with Cuba. However, Machin remains adamant about Shakur’s sanctuary and said; because Cuba granted her political asylum she would not be subjected to extradition to the United States.
Machin also voiced his skepticism of the conviction against the black activist, adding; “There are very serious doubts about that case. We consider that a politically motivated case against that lady.”
Assata Olugbala Shakur known formally as JoAnne Deborah Byron in July 16, 1947; sometimes referred to by her married surname Chesimard is a former member of the Black Liberation Army. Assata Shakur was convicted of the first-degree murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973.
Shakur was also the target of the FBI’s COINTELPRO (counterintelligence program) directed towards Black Liberation groups and activists
