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Christie vehemently disagreed with re-establishing diplomatic ties with the communist nation “without a clear commitment from the Cuban government of the steps they will take to reverse decades of human rights violations will result in a better and more just Cuba for its people.”
He also wrote: “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, our country, and in particular, the men and women of the New Jersey State Police, who have tirelessly tried to bring this killer back to justice.”
“If, as you assert, Cuba is serious about embracing democratic principles then this action would be an essential first step,” Christie told the president.
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WHAT WE THINK: Before President Obama tries opening doors for Cuba, I wrote in one of CLIFFVIEW PILOT‘s first-ever editorials 5½ years ago , there’s an outstanding matter here in New Jersey that must be resolved first. READ MORE….
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Assata Olugbala Shakur (born July 16, 1947) as JoAnne Deborah Byron — married name Chesimard — gunned down NJSP Trooper Werner Foerster during a May 1973 motor vehicle stop on the New Jersey Turnpike.
The Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA) member was sentenced to life in prison but escaped and fled to Cuba, where she was granted political asylum.
Chesimard has reared her head now and then — at times, it seems, to thumb her nose at the United States — offering interviews to Newsday, among others, and writing books.
Nearly a decade ago, the State Police increased the American bounty on her head to $1 million, the highest ever for a New Jersey fugitive. The reward was doubled a year and a half ago, on the 40th anniversary of the bloody gun battle. READ MORE….
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