Cuban President Fidel Castro made clear this week he will not hand over political exile Assata Shakur who has been living in Cuba since escaping from prison in 1979. U.S. officials put Shakur on a government terrorist watch list this month. On the same day, New Jersey officials announced a $1 million reward for her capture. She was convicted in 1973 of killing a New Jersey State Trooper. In a major televised address, Castro called Shakur a victim of “the fierce repression against the Black movement in the United States” and said she had been “a true political prisoner.” He called the charges against her “an infamous lie.” Castro’s remarks were his first comment on the new U.S. actions. Castro suggested that the threats against Shakur were meant to divert attention from Cuba’s demand that U.S. officials arrest Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA asset who has admitted to carrying out acts of terrorism against Cuba. Fidel Castro called for a massive rally on May 17 in front of the U.S. Interests Section to demand the arrest of Posada.