Cuban officials on Friday said that Joanne Chesimard, who was convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper, has died in Havana decades after breaking out of prison and escaping to the communist island.
Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Chesimard, who was born JoAnne Deborah Byron and was also known as Assata Olugbala Shakur, passed away after living there for years under asylum granted by the Cuban government.
“On September 25, 2025, American citizen Joanne Deborah Byron, ‘Assata Shakur,’ passed away in Havana, Cuba, due to health conditions and advanced age,” the ministry’s statement said.
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