Tupac Shakur’s godmother and convicted cop killer Assata Shakur – who escaped jail and fled to Cuba in 1979  –  has died aged 78.

Shakur, whose birth name was Joanne Deborah Chesimard, died Thursday in Havana, the capital of Cuba, due to ‘health conditions and advanced age,’ as stated by Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Shakur’s daughter, Kakuya Shakur, also confirmed her mother’s death in a Facebook post. 

She wrote: ‘At approximately 1:15 PM on September 25th, my mother, Assata Shakur, took her last earthly breath. 

‘Words cannot capture the deep loss I am experiencing right now. I wish to express my gratitude for your heartfelt prayers that continue to provide me the strength I need at this moment. My spirit resonates in harmony with all of you who share in my grief during this time.

‘Sending much love and appreciation to you all, Kakuya Shakur.’

As a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, Shakur, along with two others, was involved in a gunfight with New Jersey State Police after a traffic stop on May 2, 1973.

Tupac Shakur’s godmother and convicted killer Assata Shakur – who escaped jail and fled to Cuba – has died aged 78 – pictured 1977

Chesimard-Shakur is the step-aunt and godmother of late rapper Tupac Shakur – pictured 1996

Trooper Werner Foerster was killed and another officer was wounded, while one of Shakur´s companions was also killed. 

Shakur, who was at the time wanted on several felonies, including bank robbery, fled but was eventually apprehended.

In her writings from Cuba over the years, she claimed that she didn’t shoot anyone and had her hands up in the air when she was shot during the exchange of gunfire.

Shakur was found guilty of murder, armed robbery and other crimes in 1977 and was sentenced to life in prison, only to escape in November 1979.

Individuals from the Black Liberation Army, disguised as visitors, infiltrated the Clinton Correctional Facility for women, took two guards hostage, and used a prison van to help Shakur escape.

She disappeared before eventually emerging in 1984 in Cuba, where Fidel Castro granted her asylum, according to the FBI. 

In 2013, she became the first woman to be added to FBI’s Most Wanted List under the name Joanne Chesimard. 

Sundiata Acoli, another person convicted in Foerster’s killing, was paroled in 2022. His lawyers had presented that, at the time in his eighties, he had been an exemplary inmate for nearly thirty years, guiding other prisoners.

Shakur, who was born Joanne Deborah Chesimard, passed away Thursday in the capital city of Havana due to ‘health conditions and advanced age,’ Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

In 2013, she became the first woman to be added to FBI’s Most Wanted List under the name Joanne Chesimard

A photo of a reward poster announcing the $1million federal bounty for the capture of Chesimard is seen

Shakur was assassinated in 1996 aged just 25 

Chesimard-Shakur is the step-aunt and godmother of late rapper Tupac Shakur, who was assassinated in 1996 aged just 25. 

Shakur´s case had long been a thorny issue in the fraught relations between the U.S. and Cuba. 

American authorities, including President Donald Trump during his first term in office, had demanded her return from the communist nation for decades.

She had claimed she was being pursued for crimes she didn’t commit, or which were justified. 

Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis, 61, was arrested for the murder of Tupac in September 2023 – 27 years after the famed rapper was shot dead in the passenger seat of a car in Nevada.

Until Davis, no one had been arrested for the musician’s death, but the former drug lord continues to maintain his innocence as he sits in Clark County Detention Center awaiting trial.

Prosecutors built their case against Davis using his own self-published, co-written memoir, Compton Street Legend.

They alleged he revealed his part in the murder of Tupac, but the California native said he’s never actually read his own book.

Davis had been the leader of the Crips street gang in Compton and authorities insisted he was the ‘shot caller’ when it came to Tupac’s murder.

The rapper was shot in a car off the Las Vegas strip in September 1996 after attending a Mike Tyson fight. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died six days later.

Prosecutors told ABC News that they are confident with the case and expect Davis to be convicted.

Years ago, Vegas detectives wanted to charge Davis with the murder of Tupac, but held off as prosecutors feared the case would be thrown out due to an agreement Davis made with a federal task force in Los Angeles in 2008.

The former drug lord allegedly admitted to having some involvement in Tupac’s murder, which he made as part of a ‘proffer agreement,’ which protected him from being prosecuted for what he said.

The next year, he spoke with Vegas police, who did not have to honor the agreement, according to ABC News.

Davis’ lawyers tried to argue this in his new case, but it was rejected.

‘I’m not even supposed to be in jail,’ he told ABC News. ‘A deal is a deal.’

He also points blame Reggie Wright Jr., a former police officer who was ran security for Knight’s Death Row Records at the time.

‘Their top witness is the lead suspect, Reggie Wright Jr.,’ he told the outlet. Wright testified to a grand jury to indict Davis.

Davis is the only person still alive who was in the car from which shots were fired.

Davis pleaded not guilty in November to first-degree murder and has remained jailed at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. His trial is slated to begin in 2026.