American fugitives in Cuba

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The FBI's wanted poster for Robert F. Williams, the first prominent American fugitive in Cuba, 1961 Hooverwarrantforwilliams.jpg
The FBI's wanted poster for Robert F. Williams, the first prominent American fugitive in Cuba, 1961

The United States and Cuba have maintained an extradition treaty since April 6, 1904, following the island's independence. Modern diplomatic relations are cold due to historic conflict and divergent political ideologies which has strained fulfillment of their bilateral extradition treaty. The active treaty has historically had weak enforcement mechanisms with both nations consistently noncompliant.

Contents

U.S. fugitives have sought political asylum in Cuba since the 1960s, stemming from a variety of domestic and international social movements. This includes the black power movement of the 1960s to 1980s, the Puerto Rican independence movement, and CIA-led foreign operations on the island. [1] [2] [3] Estimates of U.S. fugitives in Cuba are inconclusive with a range of 90 (1998) to 100 (2000). [4] [5]

History

1960s – 1980s

Cuban leader Fidel Castro had long tried to court African American support for Cuba ever since the victory of the Cuban Revolution and the promotions of Cuba as an island without racism perfect for African American tourists. [6] Robert F. Williams was invited to live in Cuba after legal prosecutions against him in the United States in 1961. While in Cuba he edited The Crusader newspaper and hosted radio shows at Radio Free Dixie. [6] Over Williams' time in Cuba he began to become disillusioned with Cuba believing the island was controlled by a "white petit bourgeoisie", while Afro-Cubans were feeling the pinch of fast returning subtle racism", and also later suggested against black militants without criminal histories hijacking planes to come to Cuba. [6] Williams was also discouraged from promoting Black nationalist beliefs by the Cuban government. [6]

Between 1967 and 1968 dozens of Black Panthers found refuge in Cuba. Eldridge Cleaver went to reside Cuba in 1968 and asked for Cuba to militarily train Black Panthers, the proposition was declined. [7] By 1969 various Black Panthers in Cuba complained of not being allowed to organize their party or discuss African culture, and arrests following protesting conditions in Cuba or asking to leave the country. [8] No Black Panther Party members hijacked any planes in 1967 or 1968.[ citation needed ] It wasn't until William Lee Brent, a Bay Area Black Panther, who on June 17, 1969, hijacked Trans World Airlines Flight 154 to Cuba. Hijackings committed by Blacks in the US bound to Cuba between 1968 and May 1969 were exclusively escaped criminals or political activists but none of them were Black Panther Party members. It was only after William Lee Brent's hijacking that other Black Panthers would find political exile in Cuba. Most moved on to Algiers where Eldridge Cleaver, Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party, headed the International Section of the BPP. Many exiled Panthers and former hijackers now turned Panthers, made up Cleavers group.[ citation needed ]

Most hijackers who complained about their mistreatment while in Cuba were disillusioned with Cuba being a utopia for Revolutionaries. Most of them were also barely out of their teens and idealistic, expecting a heroes' welcome by the communist government.[ citation needed ] They were not prepared for the reality of socialism and culture shock. Between 1968 and 1972 over 130 airplane hijackings occurred in the United States, all hijackers aiming to fly their planes to Cuba to find refuge. Many hijackers regarded themselves as revolutionaries but one noted hijacker was a Cuban exile who simply wanted to return home to eat his mother's food.[ citation needed ] Most hijackers were interviewed by Cuban authorities and either sent to live in the "Hijackers House" dormitory or work in labor camps. [9] Huey P. Newton found himself residing in Cuba in 1974 and mostly kept to himself in his home in Santa Clara. Assata Shakur would find refuge in Cuba later in 1984. [7] By the time Shakur resided in Cuba the Cuban government had relaxed procedures used on fugitives residing in Cuba and mainly left her to her own devices. [6]

Modern status

Since the U.S. and Cuba restored diplomatic relations in 2015, ending a 54-year stretch of hostility, extradition policy has become a key foreign policy issue. [10] Since the late 2010s, relations have deteriorated in part to disagreements on fugitive extradition. [11] In 2016, American magazine The New Yorker reported that despite prisoner exchanges, Cuba has not extradited suspected U.S. fugitives. [2] [ disputed – discuss ] In 2018, Cuba extradited a fugitive from New Jersey back to the U.S. after initially refusing extradition in 2014. [12] The U.S. government proposed legislation in 2022 to force greater Cuban compliance with their existing extradition treaty. [13]

Fugitive list

The following people are fugitives who have or currently are finding refuge in Cuba (alphabetical order):

See also

References

  1. ↑ Meghan Keneally (December 19, 2014). "These American Fugitives May Be Hiding Out in Cuba". abcnews.go.com.
  2. 1 2 Jon Lee Anderson (August 13, 2016). "The American Fugitives of Havana". newyorker.com.
  3. ↑ Reitan, Ruth (June 1999). "Cuba, the black panther party and the US black movement in the 1960s: Issues of security". New Political Science. 21 (2): 217–230. doi:10.1080/07393149908429864.
  4. ↑ House Concurrent Resolution 254.
  5. ↑ Reed Irvine and Cliff Kincaid. 2000, May 11. "Sending Elian Back To A Terrorist State Archived 2006-12-01 at the Wayback Machine ." Accuracy in Media.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Dunbar, Jessie Lafrance (2017). "Where Diaspora Meets Disillusionment: Panther Politics in Castro's Cuba". Interdisciplinary Literary Studies. 19 (3): 299–319. doi:10.5325/intelitestud.19.3.0299. S2CID   148762414. Project MUSE   672190.
  7. 1 2 Benvenuti, Alberto (2015). "African American Radicals and Revolutionary Cuba from 1959 until the Black Power Years". In Buonomo, Leonardo; Vezzosi, Elisabetta (eds.). Discourses of Emancipation and the Boundaries of Freedom. Selected Papers from the 22nd AISNA Biennial International Conference. EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste. pp. 129–137. hdl: 10077/11634 . ISBN   978-88-8303-689-7.
  8. ↑ Fenton Wheeler (June 26, 1969). "Life Worse in Cuba, Unhappy Black Panthers Wail". latinamericanstudies.org.
  9. ↑ Brendan Koerner (June 18, 2013). "How Hijackers Commandeered Over 130 American Planes — In 5 Years". wired.com.
  10. ↑ Glenza, Jessica (2014-12-18). "New Jersey hopes Cuba-US relations thaw will help extradite former Black Panther". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  11. ↑ Press, Associated (2016-06-10). "US fugitives say Cuba reassures them they are safe from extradition". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  12. ↑ Whitefield, Mimi (November 7, 2018). "Cuba extradites a 55-year-old American lawyer to face murder charges in N.J." The Miami Herald. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Menendez, Rubio Introduce Legislation Demanding Cuban Regime Extradite American Fugitives, Terrorists | United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations". www.foreign.senate.gov. August 3, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  14. ↑ Asha Bandele. 2003, January. "Cuba's soul: the nation's spirit still thrives. Just ask the women." Essence.
  15. ↑ Costello D. 1986, August 13. "Cuba claims U.S. officer in defection." Courier-Mail.
  16. ↑ Larry Rohter. 1996, April 9. "Havana Journal;25 Years an Exile: An Old Black Panther Sums Up." New York Times.
  17. ↑ Aidan Smith. 2000, May 2. "The Gun-toting Black Panther who turned into a Pussycat." The Scotsman.
  18. 1 2 New York Post. May 9, 1998. "Playing Chesimard with Cuba." p. 14.
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