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Report: Cuba frees American Alan Gross after 5 years detention on spy charges Cuba frees American Alan Gross after 5 years detention on spy charges
(35 minutes later)
Cuba has released American Alan Gross after five years in custody, the Associated Press reported Wednesday, citing a senior Obama administration official. Cuba has freed American Alan Gross after five years in custody as part of a deal that also included the release of three Cubans jailed in the United States, a senior Obama administration official and news reports said.
The official said Gross has departed Cuba on a U.S. government plane. He was released on humanitarian grounds by the Cuban government at the request of the United States, the official said. The exchange also could open the way for political openings between Washington and Havana, which has been under U.S. sanctions for more than four decades.
The AP said the official insisted on anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. President Obama was expected to make a statement on Cuba at noon. At the same time, Cuban President Raul Castro was scheduled to address his nation about relations with the United States, Cuban state television reported.
Gross, 65, was detained in December 2009 while setting up illegal Internet access as a subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was later charged with espionage. The Obama administration official said Gross has departed Cuba on a U.S. government plane. He was released on humanitarian grounds by the Cuban government at the request of the United States, the official said.
President Obama planned to make a statement regarding Cuba at noon. The spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
There was no immediate comment from the White House.
Gross, 65, was detained in December 2009 while setting up illegal Internet access as a subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was later sentenced to 15 years in prison for espionage.
Cuba considers USAID’s programs illegal attempts by the U.S. to undermine its government.
The three Cubans released in exchange for Gross are part of the so-called Cuban Five, a group sent by Cuba’s then-President Fidel Castro to spy in South Florida, the Associated Press reported. The men were convicted in 2001 in Miami on charges including conspiracy and failure to register as foreign agents in the U.S.
Earlier this month, Obama marked Gross’s fifth anniversary in detention with a statement suggesting that his release could open the way for better relations between the longtime foes.
“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.
The president has taken some steps to ease U.S. restrictions after Raul Castro took over as president in 2010, including lifting travel and financial blocks on Americans with family in Cuba. Obama, however, has so far gave no indiction of plans to fully drop the embargo.