Assata Shakur, born JoAnne Byron in 1947, is a longtime activist and former Black Panther. In current news tied to Cuba tax/oil tensions and allegations involving Raúl Castro’s grandson in a people-smuggling case in Mexico, she remains a controversial figure linked to 1960s–70s Black liberation movements and exile.
Since January, a U.S. oil blockade has cut most foreign fuel shipments to Cuba and has pushed the island into its worst energy and economic crisis in decades. Repeated nationwide blackouts have occurred, hospitals and transport are strained, tourism has collapsed and Havana has approved limited economic reforms while secret U.S. intelligence and diplomatic contacts continue.