Easier Cuba Travel May Be Delayed by Fugitive Cop Killer
Airline companies have until March 2 to apply at the Department of Transportation for at least 110 daily flights from the United States to Cuba. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Cuban Transportation Minister Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez signed a civil aviation agreement last Feb. 16 in Havana.
However, the State Troopers Fraternal Organization of New Jersey is calling to halt the restoration of flights to Cuba before a fugitive cop killer is returned to the United States. Organization president Christopher Burgos wrote an opposition letter regarding Joanne Chesimard also known as Assata Shakur.
"We strongly oppose any request or approval of United Airlines or any other airline a permit to NJ Port Authority airports to fly back and forth to a country such as Cuba, that has openly slapped all Americans in the face with their policy of keeping U.S. fugitives away and safe from the reach of U.S. justice," Burgos said in the letter.
Joanne Chesimard
Chesimard was convicted in 1977 of killing state trooper Werner Foerster on the New Jersey Turnpike on May 2, 1973. She was sentenced to life imprisonment but managed to escape in 1979. The FBI has put a $1 million reward for Chesimard, who is believed to be living in Cuba since 1984.
Chesimard was a member of the Black Liberation Army. She was previously involved in several felonies, including a bank robbery, before killing Foerster. In 1998, the House of Representatives and Senate both passed resolutions that ordered Cuba to send back Chesimard to the United States.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also wrote a letter to President Barack Obama on Dec. 18, 2014, before the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"Cuba's provision of safe harbor to Chesimard by providing political asylum to a convicted cop killer, and her ability to elude justice, is an affront to every resident of our state," Christie wrote.
More Fugitives in Cuba
Besides Chesimard, there are three more fugitives that are believed to be living in Cuba. Victor Manuel Gerena, who has a $1 million reward. Gerena participated in the $7-million robbery of a security firm in Connecticut back in 1983.
Cheri Laverne Dalton and William "Guillermo" Morales are also named by the FBI as fugitives in Cuba with both having $100,000 rewards. Dalton, also known as Nehanda Abiodun, is responsible for killing two police officers while robbing an armored car with $1.6 million in 1981. On the other hand, Morales is a bomb-maker for a Puerto Rican group.
President Obama will be visiting Cuba from March 21 to March 22 to meet with Raul Castro. However, Chesimard and the other fugitives in the Caribbean island is not on the agenda of the two leaders.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com