In this Nov. 27, 2012, file photo provided by U.S. lawyer James L.
Berenthal, jailed American Alan Gross poses for a photo during a visit
by Rabbi Elie Abadie and Berenthal at the Finlay military hospital as he
serves a prison sentence in Havana, Cuba. Alan Gross was released on
Wednesday after 5 years in prison.
As part of the secret negotiations to secure his release, the U.S. was releasing three Cubans jailed in Florida for spying.
American Alan Gross was on Wednesday released from a Cuban prison after
five years, a surprise move that could pave the way for a major shift in
U.S. policy toward the Communist island nation, senior Obama
administration officials said.
Gross, 65, was on an American government plane bound for the U.S. on
Wednesday morning after being released on humanitarian grounds by the
Cuban Government at the request of the Obama administration. As part of
the secret negotiations to secure his release, the U.S. was releasing
three Cubans jailed in Florida for spying.
Obama administration officials have considered Gross’ imprisonment an impediment to improving relations with Cuba.
President Barack Obama was to address the nation on Cuba at noon
Wednesday, the White House said, and U.S. officials speaking on
condition of anonymity said he was expected to announce Gross’ release.
They were not authorized to be identified by name before Obama’s
remarks.
Bonnie Rubinstein, Gross’ sister, heard the news from a cousin, who saw it on television.
“We’re like screaming and jumping up and down,” she said in a brief telephone interview from her home in Texas.
Gross was detained in December 2009 while working to set up Internet
access as a subcontractor for the U.S. government’s U.S. Agency for
International Development, which does work promoting democracy in the
communist country. It was his fifth trip to Cuba to work with Jewish
communities on setting up Internet access that bypassed local
censorship.
Cuba considers USAID’s programs illegal attempts by the U.S. to
undermine its government, and Gross was tried and sentenced to 15 years
in prison.
The three Cubans released in exchange for Gross are part of the
so—called Cuban Five a group of men who were part of the “Wasp Network”
sent by Cuba’s then—President Fidel Castro to spy in South Florida. The
men, who are hailed as heroes in Cuba, were convicted in 2001 in Miami
on charges including conspiracy and failure to register as foreign
agents in the U.S.
Two of the Cuban Five were previously released after finishing their sentences.
In a statement marking the fifth anniversary of Gross’ detention earlier
this month, Obama hinted that his release could lead to a thaw in
relations with Cuba.
“The Cuban Government’s release of Alan on humanitarian grounds would
remove an impediment to more constructive relations between the United
States and Cuba,” Obama said in a statement.
The president has taken some steps to ease U.S. restrictions on Cuba
after Raul Castro took over as president in 2010 from his ailing
brother. He has sought to ease travel and financial restrictions on
Americans with family in Cuba, but has resisted calls to drop the
embargo.
Obama and Raul Castro shook hands and exchanged pleasantries last year
while both attended a memorial service in South Africa for Nelson
Mandela.
The surprise prisoner swap has echoes of the deal the U.S. cut earlier
this year to secure the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been
held by the Taliban. In exchange for his release in May, the U.S.
turned over five Taliban prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay detention
center.
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