Assata Shakur, fugitive, Black liberation activist dies in Cuban exile aged 78

Assata Shakur, the former Black Liberation activist who became a prominent civil rights figure for those she fought for and a fugitive murderer for the FBI after she was sentenced in the killing of a New Jersey state trooper, has died aged 78 in Havana, Cuba.

Assata Shakur had been living in exile in Cuba for four decades after escaping from a US prison in 1979.

The Cuban foreign ministry on Friday, September 26, 2025, released a statement regarding the death of Assata Shakur that read, "Shakur died the day before from health conditions and advanced age.”

Over the years, Shakur’s life became a central figure in debates over race and justice in the US. She faced multiple charges over the years, including robbery for ransom, but a significant number of cases didn’t result in conviction.

Shakur was on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list for many years, until she succeeded in escaping from a New Jersey women’s prison in 1979.

She was completing her sentence for murdering a New Jersey trooper and a fellow activist. Shakur received asylum from former Cuban president Fidel Castro in 1984.

JoAnne Deborah Byron was born in July 1947 in New York City and spent her childhood moving between the two cities: Wilmington and New York.

During her college days, she started taking part in politics for Black Americans. First, she was associated with the Black Panther Party, a group that was a staunch supporter of radical resistance to racism in the US.

Although the movement was fiercely crushed by the FBI, which saw it as a threat to national security at the time.

Shakur later joined a more radical resistance movement, the Black Liberation Army, whose members largely included former Black Panthers.

Shakur’s exile in Cuba was one of many contentious issues between Cuba and the US.

In the history of the FBI, Assata Shakur was the first woman to have been added to the Most Wanted Terrorists list.

Even New Jersey and the FBI each had announced a $1 million reward for information leading to her capture.

Assata Shakur leaves behind her daughter, Kakuya Shakur, who shared a post on Facebook: "Words cannot describe the depth of loss that I am feeling at this time.”

Shakur was referenced in songs by artists like Public Enemy and Common that celebrate her legacy; the most famous ones are Rebel Without a Pause by Public Enemy and A Song for Assata by the rapper Common.