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| Q. and A. on Alan Gross, American Prisoner Freed in Cuba | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Q. Who is Alan Gross? | Q. Who is Alan Gross? |
| A. Alan P. Gross, 65, is a former government contractor from Maryland who was detained in Havana on Dec. 3, 2009, for delivering communications equipment to religious groups. Cuba sentenced Mr. Gross to 15 years in prison for plotting to “destroy the revolution” (distributing satellite communications equipment is illegal in Cuba). His imprisonment was a main point of contention between the American and Cuban governments. | |
| Various proxies for the American government have gone to Cuba hoping to secure his release, including Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico, and former President Jimmy Carter. | Various proxies for the American government have gone to Cuba hoping to secure his release, including Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico, and former President Jimmy Carter. |
| Mr. Gross’s wife, Judy, also appealed to the Cuban government to release her husband, saying he was in poor health. | Mr. Gross’s wife, Judy, also appealed to the Cuban government to release her husband, saying he was in poor health. |
| Q. How did imprisonment affect relations between Cuba and the United States? | |
| A. The arrest, which came about nine months after President Obama loosened restrictions on the ability of Cuban-Americans to visit the island and send money to family members, sent a chill through Washington and Havana. Mr. Gross’s case became the latest obstacle to improved relations between the two countries, which share a long history of mutual mistrust and missed opportunities to reconcile. | A. The arrest, which came about nine months after President Obama loosened restrictions on the ability of Cuban-Americans to visit the island and send money to family members, sent a chill through Washington and Havana. Mr. Gross’s case became the latest obstacle to improved relations between the two countries, which share a long history of mutual mistrust and missed opportunities to reconcile. |
| Cuban officials said that in detaining Mr. Gross they were simply protecting their sovereignty, after having objected to Washington many times about the semicovert program to which Mr. Gross belonged. American officials said that Mr. Gross was imprisoned illegally, and that his release was a prerequisite for any change in United States policy toward Cuba. | Cuban officials said that in detaining Mr. Gross they were simply protecting their sovereignty, after having objected to Washington many times about the semicovert program to which Mr. Gross belonged. American officials said that Mr. Gross was imprisoned illegally, and that his release was a prerequisite for any change in United States policy toward Cuba. |
| White House and State Department officials who were interested in trying to strengthen Cuban civil society by relaxing sanctions were often stymied by others in and out of government who insisted that nothing could be done until Cuba freed Mr. Gross. | White House and State Department officials who were interested in trying to strengthen Cuban civil society by relaxing sanctions were often stymied by others in and out of government who insisted that nothing could be done until Cuba freed Mr. Gross. |
| Cuban-American lawmakers, especially Marco Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, and Robert Menendez, the Democratic senator from New Jersey, also made the release of Mr. Gross a priority, citing what they called clear violations of Mr. Gross’s human rights and the Cuban people’s right to free access to information. | Cuban-American lawmakers, especially Marco Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, and Robert Menendez, the Democratic senator from New Jersey, also made the release of Mr. Gross a priority, citing what they called clear violations of Mr. Gross’s human rights and the Cuban people’s right to free access to information. |
| Q. Was Mr. Gross freed in a prisoner exchange? | |
| A. There was a prisoner exchange on Wednesday, but American officials insisted that Mr. Gross was not a part of it. | |
| The United States released three Cuban spies who had been in an American prison since 2001; in exchange, Cuba released an agent for United States intelligence who had been imprisoned for nearly 20 years, American officials said. Both countries said that Mr. Gross’s release was separate and that he had been freed by the Cubans on humanitarian grounds. | |
| Cuba also said it would release 53 Cubans who the United States government says are political prisoners. | |
| Q. How did the release come about? | |
| A. Representatives of the United States and Cuba have been in talks over how to improve relations for about 18 months, officials said. In their remarks, Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba each thanked Canada, the Vatican and Pope Francis personally for facilitating the agreement. Mr. Obama said Canada had hosted talks, and the Vatican said in a statement that it received delegations from both countries in October. | |
| Q. How will Cuban-American relations change now? | |
| A. Mr. Obama and Mr. Castro simultaneously announced on Wednesday that Cuba and the United States would normalize their relations, exchanging ambassadors, reopening embassies and holding bilateral discussions. The two men spoke by telephone for 45 minutes, in the first direct contact between heads of the American and Cuban governments in more than 50 years, American officials said; Mr. Castro said the call took place Tuesday. | |
| Mr. Castro said the United States trade embargo remained the principal issue between the two countries. The embargo is codified in American law and cannot be set aside entirely through executive authority alone, but Mr. Obama said in his remarks that the embargo was not serving American interests and should be reconsidered. The embargo would have to be lifted by Congress. | |
| The president does have leeway to ease some of the trade restrictions, and he indicated that he would do so. The United States will ease restrictions on remittances, travel and banking relations with Cuba, among other steps, the White House said in a fact sheet. | |
| A number of other issues also remain to be resolved, including claims for restitution for assets seized by the Cuban government. Mr. Obama said an assistant secretary of state would travel to Havana next month for talks on Cuban-American migration and the United States would begin working with Cuba on issues like counternarcotics, environmental protection and human trafficking. | |
| Mr. Obama and other officials said Washington would continue to focus strongly on human rights in Cuba, while Mr. Castro said Cuba would continue to raise “issues related to national sovereignty” with the United States. |