Now that the United States has removed Cuba from the list of foreign governments that sponsor terrorism, it is time for Havana to reciprocate and return terrorist and convicted cop killer Joanne Chesimard.
Forty-two years after she executed a New Jersey State Police trooper in cold blood, Chesimard remains free, a “guest” of Cuba’s communist regime.
If President Barack Obama is truly serious about improving relations with Cuba, Chesimard must first be returned to prison where she belongs.
In May 1973, Chesimard, the first woman to ever make the FBI’s most wanted terrorists list, shot Trooper Werner Foerster in the head on the cold pavement of the New Jersey Turnpike. After escaping from prison in 1979, she surfaced in Cuba, where an oppressive regime continues to hail her as a revolutionary hero.
The message from law enforcement and from all law-abiding citizens is clear: no more talks with Cuba until Chesimard is brought home in chains.
Joseph H. Vicari
Ocean County Freeholder
Toms River