Cuba Releases American Alan Gross in Exchange for Cuban Prisoners
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A senior Obama administration official tells the AP that American citizen Alan Gross has been released from Cuba following five long years in prison. Gross departed Cuba on a US government plane headed for the United States. He was released on humanitarian grounds by the Cuban government at the request of the United States, said the official.
His release comes as part of a “landmark humanitarian prisoner exchange” that Obama will announce today, and an overhaul in US-Cuba relations born from more than a year of “secret back-channel talks at the highest levels of both governments.” Obama is set to speak at noon today, reports CNN.
The AP reports 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 US. Two of the Cuban Five were previously released after finishing their sentences.
Today’s news comes two weeks after Gross’ wife said her husband was “literally wasting away” in prison, having lost more than 100 pounds—as well as five teeth—over the years. Gross was convicted in 2011 of espionage and sentenced to 15 years for bringing telecommunications gear into Cuba while working for USAID as a subcontractor.
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Poor bastard will have to buy a new wardrobe. Glad he’s back.