Various American fugitives in Cuba have found political asylum in Cuba after participating in militant activities in the Black power movement or the

Independence movement in Puerto Rico Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to obtain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire from 1493 to 1898 and since then from the United States. A spectrum of pro-autonomy, ...

. Other fugitives in Cuba include defected CIA agents and others. The Cuban government formed formal ties with the Black Panther Party in the 1960s, and many fugitive Black Panthers would find political asylum in Cuba, but after their activism was seen being repressed in Cuba many became disillusioned. House Concurrent Resolution 254, passed in 1998, put the number at 90. One estimate, c. 2000, put the number at approximately 100.

History

Beginnings

Fidel Castro had long tried to court African American support for Cuba ever since the victory of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...

and the promotions of Cuba as an island without racism perfect for African American tourists. Robert F. Williams was invited to live in Cuba after legal prosecutions against him in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1961. While in Cuba he edited ''The Crusader'' newspaper and hosted radio shows at

Radio Free Dixie Radio Free Dixie was a radio program broadcast from Cuba by American Civil Rights Leader Robert F. Williams in the early 1960s that advocated for racial equality. It called on black Americans to rise up against what Williams saw as an inherently r ...

. 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. Williams was also discouraged from promoting Black nationalist beliefs by the Cuban government.

Increase

Between 1967 and 1968 dozens of Black Panthers found refuge in Cuba.

Eldridge Cleaver Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an American writer and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party. In 1968, Cleaver wrote '' Soul on Ice'', a collection of essays that, at the time of i ...

went to reside Cuba in 1968 and asked for Cuba to militarily train Black Panthers, the proposition was declined. 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. 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. Most hijackers were interviewed by Cuban authorities and either sent to live in the "Hijackers House" dormitory or work in labor camps.

Huey P. Newton Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African-American revolutionary, notable as founder of the Black Panther Party. Newton crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale in 1966. Under Newton's leadershi ...

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. 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.

Later status

Since the resumption of relations with the United States and the trades of imprisoned spies some have suspected fugitives in Cuba may be extradited to the United States but no extraditions have occurred.

List

The following people are fugitives who have or currently are finding refuge in Cuba, (in alphabetical order). * Nehanda Abiodun *

Philip Agee Philip Burnett Franklin Agee (; January 19, 1935 – January 7, 2008)Will Weissert"Ex-CIA Agent Philip Agee Dead in Cuba" Associated Press (sfgate.com), January 9, 2008. was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer and writer of t ...

* Hugh Almeida, U.S. Army physician * William Lee Brent *

Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin (born 1947) is an American writer, activist, and black anarchist. He is a former member of the Black Panther Party and Concerned Citizens for Justice. He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and has lived in Memphis, Tenne ...

Aidan Smith. 2000, May 2. "The Gun-toting Black Panther who turned into a Pussycat." ''The Scotsman''. * Víctor Manuel Gerena * William Morales *

Assata Shakur Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947; also married name, JoAnne Chesimard) is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1977, she was convicted in the first-degree murder ...

New York Post. May 9, 1998. "Playing Chesimard with Cuba." p. 14. * Frank Terpil *

Robert Vesco The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

* Robert F. Williams

References