Will Cuba Extradite Fugitives To The US With Reopening? By Pamela Falk, CBS

Now that the Obama Administration is moving toward the historic reopening of full diplomatic relations with Cuba, legal and policy implications abound. In addition to banking, travel and trade, the White House said it will examine the possibility of taking Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Does that mean fugitives who sought asylum in Cuba will be returned to the U.S.? Despite a 50-year diplomatic standoff, a little-known U.S.-Cuba extradition treaty remains in effect. The treaty, first signed in 1904, has only rarely been applied since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. Most extraditions that took place were arranged informally. Assata Shakur, who was born Joanne Chesimard, was arrested in 1973 and convicted in the murder of a New Jersey state trooper. While serving a life sentence, she escaped from prison in 1979 and eventually fled to Cuba. In 1984, the Castro government granted her asylum. Despite a 50-year diplomatic standoff, a little-known U.S.-Cuba extradition treaty remains in effect. The treaty, first signed in 1904, has only rarely been applied since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. Most extraditions that took place were arranged informally. Shakur is a former Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army member and step-aunt of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.

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NY Daily News via Getty Images New York Daily News Archive

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 29: In a caravan of eight cars bearing heavily armed state police and county officers, JoAnne Chesimard, the reputed "soul" of the Black Liberation Army, was taken chained handcuffs and leg irons from Riker's Island prison in New York City ot the Middlesex County jail to await trail in the murder of state trooper Werner Foerster. (Photo by Frank Hurley/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)