'Nothing to lose but our chains': Assata Shakur, former Black Liberation Army member, dies in Cuba; remained on 'most wanted list'

Cuban officials announced that Assata Shakur , a former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member who fled to Cuba after her 1973 conviction for the murder of a New Jersey state trooper , has died in Havana at the age of 78.

She passed away from health complications related to old age.

“On September 25, 2025, American citizen Joanne Deborah Byron , 'Assata Shakur ,' passed away in Havana, Cuba, as a result of health conditions and her advanced age,” the Cuban foreign ministry stated through a post on X.

Shakur, born Joanne Chesimard , was convicted for the May 2, 1973, killing of New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout that also left one of her fellow activists dead.

She was shot twice by police in the incident and maintained her innocence. She escaped from jail in 1979 and later fled to Cuba, where she was granted political asylum.

Her conviction and escape kept her on the New Jersey state police’s " Most Wanted List ", and the state’s repeated efforts to extradite her from Cuba were unsuccessful, as cited by ABC News.

In her autobiography, Shakur reflected on the struggle for justice, writing, “it is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”