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Wednesday, December 17, 2014

JUST IN: Maryland-native Alan Gross released from Cuba after 5 years in prison, arrives back in U.S.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - Alan Gross has called himself a "trusting fool" for going to Cuba in the first place. But family and friends described him with other words: gregarious, outgoing, and a wiz at picking up and playing any musical instrument.

Gross, 65, was freed from prison Wednesday as part of an agreement that included the release of three Cubans jailed in the United States, officials said. Gross was arrested in Cuba in 2009 while working in the Communist-run country to set up Internet access for the island's small Jewish community, access that bypassed local restrictions and monitoring.

At the time, Gross was working as a subcontractor for the U.S. government's U.S. Agency for International Development, which promotes democracy on the island. 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.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

He was not released, he was traded for three criminals. Once again Obummer makes a despicable trade then runs away to his 4 million $ tax payer funded vacation in Hawaii.

Anonymous said...

Looks like kidnapping will once again become a profitable business!

Anonymous said...

He was a hostage. Stupid Obama fell right into Castro's trick. Or did he? Maybe Obama's disdain for the American people is rearing it's ugly head full speed. Hopefully Obama's 'persistent sore throat' is something deadly and he will suffer immensely while staring at death's door. God works in mysterious ways.