Tupac's aunt wanted for murder

Joanne Chemisard, the aunt of late rapper Tupac Shakur, could be extradited from Cuba to complete her sentence for the murder of a New Jersey state trooper in 1973. She escaped prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba. Now that the U.S. has normalized relations with the country, authorities are hopeful she will be returned to an American prison.

(New Jersey State Police / Facebook)

The aunt of late rapper Tupac Shakur could be extradited from Cuba after the U.S. moved to normalize relations with the country earlier this week.

Joanne Chesimard, who now lives in Cuba under the name Assata Shakur, was convicted of murdering a New Jersey state trooper in 1973. NECN reports that she escaped from prison and fled the U.S., eventually gaining asylum from Fidel Castro.

"Chesimard isn't the only fugitive down there wanted for a violent crime, and she's already been convicted, so it's a matter of bringing her back and sending her back to jail," the New Jersey State Police wrote in a post on their Facebook page. "There's other people that surround her that Castro has taken a liking to and it's been very, very difficult in their particular cases to have discussions to get them out."

Chesimard was the first woman ever to be added to the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists List, according to the L.A. Times. She was believed to be a member of the Black Liberation Army, a militant group that supported armed revolution against those who oppressed black Americans.

In May 1973, she was suspected in several bank robberies and pulled over by Troopers Werner Foerster and James Harper. The FBI said Foerster was shot execution-style. Harper was seriously wounded.

Chesimard was convicted in 1977 and broke out of prison in 1979 with the help of armed militants.

There is a $2 million reward leading to her arrest.

On Wednesday, the U.S. announced it would form diplomatic ties with Cuba after 50 years of hostility and open an embassy in Havana. This was accompanied by the release of American prisoner Alan Gross, who was arrested in 2009 for helping Jewish communities gain Internet access that bypassed government censorship.