36
The Spectacular Escape: A Bold Move
One of the most captivating episodes in the Assata Shakur case is undoubtedly her escape.
November 2, 1979, Clinton Correctional Facility for Women, New Jersey: Assata Shakur, serving her sentence in the maximum-security wing, is freed in a daring operation carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and the May 19th Communist Organization. The assailants, posing as visitors, took two guards hostage and escaped in a prison van. This exfiltration is one of the most spectacular prison escapes in U. S. history.
Flashmag! Issue 165 October 2025
After the Escape: Assata Shakur lived in hiding for several years, as the FBI and US authorities launched an intensive manhunt for her.
Clandestine Life in Cuba: Political Asylum and New Identity
Assata Shakur’ s years in hiding are shrouded in mystery, until she reappears on a remote island.
1984, Cuba: Assata Shakur resurfaces in Cuba, where Fidel Castro grants her political asylum. This decision is one of the most famous examples of Cuba’ s alignment with what she describes as revolutionary forces fighting against“ the oppressive capitalist empire in the North”. Shakur considers herself a political exile, claiming she was marked for assassination by the FBI and that the Cuban government saved her life.
36