_Anghellic_
Tia Mowry Bandwagon
As President Barack Obama puts forth efforts to thaw the United States’ relationship with the country of Cuba, one of the lingering questions is whether or not this new diplomatic standing will impact the extradition of Assata Shakur. New Jersey governor Chris Christie has stated that he plans to use the new situation as an opportunity to bring Shakur back home to face charges for killing a police officer many years ago.
According to the Associated Press, the country of Cuba says that it fully expects to maintain its right to grant asylum to fugitives from the United States. This is a strong signal that it has no plans of giving Shakur up to federal authorities.
Currently, Shakur is the most-wanted woman in the United States. She inexplicably gained that status under the Obama Administration.
Shakur is listed under the name Joanne Chesimard. Former leader Fidel Castro granted her asylum when she escaped from prison while serving a life sentence for killing a state trooper in New Jersey in 1973.
Cuba’s head of North American affairs, Josefina Vidal, told The Associated Press that “every nation has sovereign and legitimate rights to grant political asylum to people it considers to have been persecuted. … That’s a legitimate right.”
“We’ve explained to the U.S. government in the past that there are some people living in Cuba to whom Cuba has legitimately granted political asylum,” Vidal said.
“There’s no extradition treaty in effect between Cuba and the U.S.,” she went on to say.
While Cuba is clearly expressing its right to grant asylum, this doesn’t mean that they won’t change their mind. There could be backroom dealings that may cause Cuba to double cross Shakur and make her available to American authorities who will have greater access to their country. On the other hand, the announcement may be due to signaling by the United States government that it has no plans to challenge Shakur’s extradition status.
Governor Christie says that Shakur’s status in Cuba is “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.”
Here’s more of what Christie said about Shakur during a recent television interview:
“So Joanne Chesimard, a cold-blooded cop-killer, convicted by a jury of her peers, in what is without question the fairest and most just criminal justice system in the world — certainly much more just than anything that’s happened in Cuba under the Castro brothers. She is now, according to an official of the Cuban government, persecuted,” he said.
Shakur has long been in danger and the incentives have been steep. There is currently a $2 million dollar reward for information leading to her arrest and capture, likely grabbing the attention of numerous bounty hunters seeking a healthy payday. If it becomes easier to travel back-and-forth to Cuba, it could make it easier for people to find her.
In 1998, Shakur described herself as a “20th century escaped slave.”
Here is some of what federal officials said about her on the 40th anniversary of the state trooper shooting incident:
“Since the moment Trooper Foerster was murdered and Trooper Harper was shot in a gun battle started by three armed domestic terrorists, the New Jersey State Police have sought justice. Chesimard’s escape to Cuba has only increased our resolve to bring her back to finish her prison term,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.
“Joanne Chesimard is a domestic terrorist who murdered a law enforcement officer execution-style,” said Aaron T. Ford, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Newark Division. “Today, on the anniversary of Trooper Werner Foerster’s death, we want the public to know that we will not rest until this fugitive is brought to justice.”
“Justice has no expiration date, and our resolve to capture Joanne Chesimard does not diminish with the passage of time. Instead, it grows ever stronger with the knowledge that this killer continues to live free,” said New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa. “We honor Trooper Foerster, a true hero, by keeping the focus on this fugitive, and we hope that this augmented reward will spur action that will bring Chesimard back to face the justice she has evaded for far too long.”
http://iloveblackpeople.net/2014/12/cuba-says-it-has-no-plans-to-give-up-assata-shakur/
According to the Associated Press, the country of Cuba says that it fully expects to maintain its right to grant asylum to fugitives from the United States. This is a strong signal that it has no plans of giving Shakur up to federal authorities.
Currently, Shakur is the most-wanted woman in the United States. She inexplicably gained that status under the Obama Administration.
Shakur is listed under the name Joanne Chesimard. Former leader Fidel Castro granted her asylum when she escaped from prison while serving a life sentence for killing a state trooper in New Jersey in 1973.
Cuba’s head of North American affairs, Josefina Vidal, told The Associated Press that “every nation has sovereign and legitimate rights to grant political asylum to people it considers to have been persecuted. … That’s a legitimate right.”
“We’ve explained to the U.S. government in the past that there are some people living in Cuba to whom Cuba has legitimately granted political asylum,” Vidal said.
“There’s no extradition treaty in effect between Cuba and the U.S.,” she went on to say.
While Cuba is clearly expressing its right to grant asylum, this doesn’t mean that they won’t change their mind. There could be backroom dealings that may cause Cuba to double cross Shakur and make her available to American authorities who will have greater access to their country. On the other hand, the announcement may be due to signaling by the United States government that it has no plans to challenge Shakur’s extradition status.
Governor Christie says that Shakur’s status in Cuba is “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.”
Here’s more of what Christie said about Shakur during a recent television interview:
“So Joanne Chesimard, a cold-blooded cop-killer, convicted by a jury of her peers, in what is without question the fairest and most just criminal justice system in the world — certainly much more just than anything that’s happened in Cuba under the Castro brothers. She is now, according to an official of the Cuban government, persecuted,” he said.
Shakur has long been in danger and the incentives have been steep. There is currently a $2 million dollar reward for information leading to her arrest and capture, likely grabbing the attention of numerous bounty hunters seeking a healthy payday. If it becomes easier to travel back-and-forth to Cuba, it could make it easier for people to find her.
In 1998, Shakur described herself as a “20th century escaped slave.”
Here is some of what federal officials said about her on the 40th anniversary of the state trooper shooting incident:
“Since the moment Trooper Foerster was murdered and Trooper Harper was shot in a gun battle started by three armed domestic terrorists, the New Jersey State Police have sought justice. Chesimard’s escape to Cuba has only increased our resolve to bring her back to finish her prison term,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.
“Joanne Chesimard is a domestic terrorist who murdered a law enforcement officer execution-style,” said Aaron T. Ford, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Newark Division. “Today, on the anniversary of Trooper Werner Foerster’s death, we want the public to know that we will not rest until this fugitive is brought to justice.”
“Justice has no expiration date, and our resolve to capture Joanne Chesimard does not diminish with the passage of time. Instead, it grows ever stronger with the knowledge that this killer continues to live free,” said New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa. “We honor Trooper Foerster, a true hero, by keeping the focus on this fugitive, and we hope that this augmented reward will spur action that will bring Chesimard back to face the justice she has evaded for far too long.”
http://iloveblackpeople.net/2014/12/cuba-says-it-has-no-plans-to-give-up-assata-shakur/
