This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30519787
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Alan Gross: US worker released from Cuba prison | Alan Gross: US worker released from Cuba prison |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The US and Cuba have struck a prisoner swap deal that involves the release of American Alan Gross and three Cubans, US officials have announced. | |
| Mr Gross, 65, was accused of helping to hook people up to the internet illegally on the communist island. | Mr Gross, 65, was accused of helping to hook people up to the internet illegally on the communist island. |
| He left Cuba on a US government plane and was freed on humanitarian grounds, a US official told Associated Press. | He left Cuba on a US government plane and was freed on humanitarian grounds, a US official told Associated Press. |
| His arrest and imprisonment has undermined attempts to thaw diplomatic relations between the two countries. | His arrest and imprisonment has undermined attempts to thaw diplomatic relations between the two countries. |
| The three Cubans released in the US are part of the so-called Cuban Five convicted of spying. | |
| Prosecutors said the five had sought to infiltrate US military bases and spied on Cuban exiles in Florida. | |
| Two were recently allowed to return to Cuba after finishing their sentences. | |
| Mr Gross, who has been in declining health, was jailed for 15 years for committing "acts against the integrity of the state". | |
| His work in building internet access for local communities involved bringing in satellite equipment that is illegal in Cuba. | His work in building internet access for local communities involved bringing in satellite equipment that is illegal in Cuba. |
| The Cuban authorities saw his activities as a covert attempt at regime change, although Washington protested his innocence. | The Cuban authorities saw his activities as a covert attempt at regime change, although Washington protested his innocence. |
| This week, former US President Bill Clinton accused Cuba of playing a "very dangerous game to hold Gross where his health is getting worse". | |
| Key dates | |
| 2001: Five Cubans, dubbed the Cuban Five, are convicted in Miami and given long sentences for spying for the Cuban government. Their case becomes a rallying cry for the Havana government | |
| 2008: Raul Castro officially takes over as Cuban president. Washington calls for free and fair elections, and says its trade embargo will remain | |
| Dec 2009: US citizen Alan Gross detained in Cuba accused of spying for Washington | |
| Oct 2011: One of the Cuban Five, Rene Gonzalez, is freed as scheduled from a Florida jail | |
| Dec 2013: US President Barack Obama and Raul Castro shake hands at Nelson Mandela's funeral - the first such public gesture since the 1959 revolution | |
| Feb 2014: The second of the Cuban Five, Fernando Gonzalez, is freed after completing his sentence | |
| 17 December 2014: Alan Gross is released by Cuba after five years in captivity |