Assata Shakur, an activist with the Black Liberation Army exiled in Cuba for four decades, has died in Havana, aged 78.
Shakur, also known as Joanne Chesimard, died Thursday of unspecified health conditions and advanced age, Cuba's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement on Friday.
She had been on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list for years after she escaped in 1979 from a New Jersey women's prison, where she was serving a life sentence following her murder conviction in a shootout that killed a New Jersey state trooper and a fellow activist.
Shakur maintained her innocence and reappeared in Cuba in 1984 where she was granted asylum by former president Fidel Castro.
Shakur was born JoAnne Deborah Byron in July 1947 in New York City and was raised between the city and Wilmington, North Carolina. She was the step-aunt and godmother of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.
Engaged in political activism for black Americans during her college years, Shakur first joined the Black Panther Party, which aimed to combat racism in the United States while providing social services for black communities.
The FBI surveilled the movement, perceiving it as a threat. Shakur eventually joined the more radical Black Liberation Army, comprising former members of the Black Panthers.
In 1973, while traveling with fellow activists, their car was stopped by police, resulting in a shootout that left state trooper Werner Foerster dead and fellow activist Zayd Malik Shakur injured alongside her. Shakur was later arrested and convicted, denying any involvement in the death of Foerster.
In a 1998 interview with NBC, she stated her fears regarding the fairness of her trial and her eventual escape from prison, citing it was necessary for her life.
Her exile became a focal point in US-Cuba relations, and she remains the first woman on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list, with rewards for her capture reaching $1 million.
Shakur's legacy resonates in modern culture, honored in songs by various artists, including Public Enemy and Common.
She is survived by her daughter Kakuya Shakur, who expressed profound grief over her mother's passing.
