If America’s largest police union can convince President-Elect Donald Trump, Assata Shakur could possibly be captured in Cuba and returned to the United States. The Fraternal Order of Police released a statement of demands that they are seeking from Trump.
One of the most glaring demands is the police union’s desire to bring Shakur back to the U.S. Shakur, 67, was a member of the Black Panthers and Black Liberation Army during the 1960s and ‘70s. In 1973, Shakur, and two others, was convicted of allegedly murdering a New Jersey State Trooper on the New Jersey Turnpike. She was sentenced to life in prison.
However, in 1979, members of the Black Liberation Army helped Shakur escape from Clinton Correctional Facility for Women. Her whereabouts remained unknown until she surfaced in Cuba in 1985 after being granted political asylum by Fidel Castro. In her memoir, Assata, she revealed how she became an activist and maintained her innocence when discussing the crime.
When President Barack Obama created a better relationship with Cuba, the police union and several politicians called for the president to bring Shakur back to America. However, President Obama never spoke about being engaged in the possibility of bringing Shakur to America.
But with the new administration set to take control in several weeks, the police union hopes that Trump will begin to implement plans for Shakur’s capture.
Shakur has served as an inspiration for freedom fighters around the world and was the subject of Common’s “A Song for Assata.” Some have called for Obama to pardon Shakur before he leaves office.
