Marco Rubio wants to "hold the Cuban regime accountable" for the US fugitives it harbors

Secretary of State Marco Rubio callled for the extradition from Cuba of Joanne Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, a fugitive convicted of the murder of a New Jersey state trooper in 1973 and who has been a refugee on the Caribbean island for four decades.

"The Cuban regime continues to provide refuge to terrorists and criminals, including U.S. fugitives," Rubio said in a statement to Fox News, which he later replicated on the social network X.

The Cuban-born politician, now also in charge of Homeland Security, added that "the brutal murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster will never be forgotten, and we will never stop fighting for justice."

Rubio also shared a message on the platform for the communist dictatorship: "We owe the victims and the American people our unwavering commitment to hold the Cuban regime accountable.

52 years of a crime without justice

Last Friday, coinciding with the 52nd anniversary of the crime, the U.S. government renewed its call for Chesimard's extradition, which has brought the case back into public scrutiny.

"The FBI is offering a reward of up to $1,000,000 for information leading directly to the capture of Joanne Chesimard, wanted for escaping from a prison in Clinton, New Jersey, while serving a life sentence for the murder of a New Jersey State Police trooper on May 2, 1973," the entity reminded via X.

In 2013, Assata Shakur became the first woman to be included on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list. U.S. authorities consider her a "domestic terrorist" and warn that she should be considered "armed and dangerous."

Chesimard and 70 other US citizens fugitives from justice reside in Cuba

The case has for decades been a sticking point in diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana.

While the U.S. government insists on her extradition, Cuban authorities have maintained that she is a politically persecuted person. Some civil rights organizations and pro-communist activists on the island even consider her a symbol of the black resistance in the United States.

Although the possibility of her extradition has been discussed on several occasions, even in the context of bilateral negotiations between both countries, so far no progress has been made. Currently, it is estimated that more than 70 U.S. citizens who are fugitives from justice reside on the Caribbean island under the protection of the regime.