December 1, 2014 3:07 pm
Hopes rise for release of US contractor Alan Gross in Cuba jail
Marc Frank in Havana
Alan Gross completes his fifth year in a Cuban jail on Wednesday for
alleged spying, and the 65-year old US contractor insists it will be his
last behind bars. The signals sent in the US and Havana in recent months
suggest he may be right.
The desire of Barack Obama, US president, to improve relations with
Cuba, an forthcoming regional summit and Cuba's own economic woes are
converging to put Gross's release on the radar in both countries.
Mr Obama last year described US policy towards Cuba as anachronistic and
called for more "flexible and creative" approaches. More recently, John
Kerry, secretary of state, and Samantha Power, Washington's ambassador
to the UN, have praised Cuba's participation in the fight against Ebola.
"Both the European Union and the Obama administration are convinced
ongoing reform of the Cuban system has begun. The EU has moved to
re-engage Cuba; many believe the US will follow," said one western diplomat.
But Mr Obama's efforts to improve relations have so far been stymied by
the case of Gross, who was jailed for 15 years for installing internet
networks under a US programme Havana considered subversive. Washington
has demanded his release. Opposition to rapprochement from
Cuban-American lawmakers such as Robert Menendez, outgoing head of the
Senate's foreign relations committee, has also obstructed progress.
Cuba has meanwhile linked the fate of Gross, who is reportedly in poor
mental and physical health, to that of five Cuban intelligence agents
imprisoned in the US in the 1990s on charges of infiltrating exile
organisations and US bases. Two were recently released.
However, Peter Kornbluh of the National Security Archive in Washington,
who co-authored Back Channel to Cuba, a book that details secret
negotiations between the two countries since 1959, said there had never
been a better moment for diplomacy.
"There are ample precedents for the two countries to engage in a
prisoner exchange that sets the stage for movement on larger issues
toward normalisation," he said. "If I were President Obama I would be
working diligently to arrive at a humanitarian agreement, given the
precarious state of Alan Gross's mental health and the dire consequences
for future policy if something happened to him."
Paul Hare, a former UK ambassador to Cuba who teaches at Boston
University, agreed the moment was propitious. Venezuela, Cuba's closest
ally, sends billions of dollars of subsidised oil to Havana every year
but is struggling with a fast-deteriorating economy. "With Venezuela in
ever more desperate straits, [Cuban president Raúl Castro] may soften
his position," Mr Hare said.
"On the US side . . . polls show the Cuban issue no longer counts for as
much and a majority of Americans favour free travel, the opening of
embassies and other measures."
Removing the US embargo against Cuba requires congressional approval but
Mr Obama could use executive powers to improve relations during his last
two years in office, he said.
Next year's Americas Summit, scheduled to be held in Panama in April, is
also raising expectations of progress. Mr Obama and Mr Castro, who is
scheduled to retire in 2018, are both expected to attend for the first time.
"The stars may finally be aligned," said Richard Feinberg, a Cuba expert
at Brookings in Washington. "Obama is focused on his legacy and ruling
by executive decree; Menendez is no longer chair of the Senate foreign
relations committee and, importantly, Raúl Castro, facing a weak
economy, appears genuinely interested in better relations."
The summit could prove a "decision-forcing moment" as regional pressure
to put hostilities aside mounted on both sides, Mr Feinberg said.
This convergence of factors lies behind the mounting speculation about a
behind the scenes deal over Gross and the Cuban agents. Such a move
could herald a broader effort by both Mr Castro and Mr Obama to leave
office with the end of one of the most intractable relics of the cold
war finally in sight.
Source: Hopes rise for release of US contractor Alan Gross in Cuba jail
- FT.com -
<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de74e682-7943-11e4-a57d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Kf7L0Wcy>
Monday, December 1, 2014
“You Are A Confrontational Media Outlet,” Security Official Tells ‘14ymedio’ Correspondent
"You Are A Confrontational Media Outlet," Security Official Tells
'14ymedio' Correspondent / 14ymedio
Posted on November 30, 2014
Juan Carlos Fernández Hernández
14YMEDIO, Havana, 28 November 28 — At nine in the morning Friday,
14ymedio correspondent Juan Carlos Fernandez attended his summons at the
Piñar del Rio police station. It was the third interrogation to which he
has been subjected this year, although on this occasion he did not
receive an official warning. A major from State Security, who only
identified himself as David, accused him of collaborating with this
newspaper, which he characterized as a "confrontational" media outlet
that "serves the interests of a foreign power."
The accusation was accompanied by threatening phrases about a possible
"police action" against Fernandez if he continues "doing what you are
doing now," the officer confirmed. Nevertheless, to the question of the
accused about a possible arrest and legal prosecution, the interrogator
downplayed the seriousness of the reprisals.
Juan Carlos Fernandez defended his right to put his opinions into
writing and publish them in any press medium. "I warn you, the weight of
the law will fall on you," responded the man using the pseudonym David,
but without giving details. The officer invoked the Constitution of the
Republic of Cuba and said that "the Government counts on the support of
the people," at which point the reporter reminded him that the Communist
Party has fewer than a million members while the population of the
country exceeds 11 million.
Juan Carlos Fernandez is a member of the magazine Coexistence which is
published in Piñar del Rio, and since last August he has begun working
as a correspondent for 14ymedio in that province. His journalistic works
cover the cultural life of the city, reports about social topics and a
wide photographic coverage of the territory.
A couple of months ago, Juan Carlos Fernandez brought to light the
censorship that Piñareno painter Pedro Pablo Oliva had suffered with the
cancellation of his exhibit Dissidences and Utopias.
Translated by MLK
Source: "You Are A Confrontational Media Outlet," Security Official
Tells '14ymedio' Correspondent / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
<http://translatingcuba.com/you-are-a-confrontational-media-outlet-security-official-tells-14ymedio-correspondent-14ymedio/>
'14ymedio' Correspondent / 14ymedio
Posted on November 30, 2014
Juan Carlos Fernández Hernández
14YMEDIO, Havana, 28 November 28 — At nine in the morning Friday,
14ymedio correspondent Juan Carlos Fernandez attended his summons at the
Piñar del Rio police station. It was the third interrogation to which he
has been subjected this year, although on this occasion he did not
receive an official warning. A major from State Security, who only
identified himself as David, accused him of collaborating with this
newspaper, which he characterized as a "confrontational" media outlet
that "serves the interests of a foreign power."
The accusation was accompanied by threatening phrases about a possible
"police action" against Fernandez if he continues "doing what you are
doing now," the officer confirmed. Nevertheless, to the question of the
accused about a possible arrest and legal prosecution, the interrogator
downplayed the seriousness of the reprisals.
Juan Carlos Fernandez defended his right to put his opinions into
writing and publish them in any press medium. "I warn you, the weight of
the law will fall on you," responded the man using the pseudonym David,
but without giving details. The officer invoked the Constitution of the
Republic of Cuba and said that "the Government counts on the support of
the people," at which point the reporter reminded him that the Communist
Party has fewer than a million members while the population of the
country exceeds 11 million.
Juan Carlos Fernandez is a member of the magazine Coexistence which is
published in Piñar del Rio, and since last August he has begun working
as a correspondent for 14ymedio in that province. His journalistic works
cover the cultural life of the city, reports about social topics and a
wide photographic coverage of the territory.
A couple of months ago, Juan Carlos Fernandez brought to light the
censorship that Piñareno painter Pedro Pablo Oliva had suffered with the
cancellation of his exhibit Dissidences and Utopias.
Translated by MLK
Source: "You Are A Confrontational Media Outlet," Security Official
Tells '14ymedio' Correspondent / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
<http://translatingcuba.com/you-are-a-confrontational-media-outlet-security-official-tells-14ymedio-correspondent-14ymedio/>
Activists Denounce Act of Repudiation Held During Child’s Birthday Party
Activists Denounce Act of Repudiation Held During Child's Birthday Party
/ 14ymedio
Posted on November 30, 2014
This morning several activists reported an act of repudiation against
members of the Network of Community Journalists and Communicators in the
eastern city of Manzanillo.
According to reports by those to whom this newspaper had access,
Leonardo Cancio had organized the celebration in his home for the
birthday of a six-year old nephew and invited his colleagues from the
Network.
From the day before he could see around his home several women who the
activists say were convened by State Security to communicate to them
that they would not permit "a party for children organized by the
counter-revolution," and also they visited neighbors' houses to warn
them not to send their children to said activity.
From early hours a crowd, calculated at some three hundred individuals
by the members of the Network, surrounded Cancio's house in order to
impede access by the invitees. Nevertheless, some activists like Tania
de la Torre, accompanied by her daughter and granddaughter, managed to
arrive in advance. De la Torre explains that "the State Security agents
called Alexis and Julio" on seeing them come out of the house "pushed us
against the crowd" where they would have received blows and threats of
future reprisals.
In statements offered to 14ymedio by Martha Beatriz Roque, leader of
this group of independent journalists, the dissident remarked, "That is
the Cuba that the Spanish Chancellor Margallo comes to visit, where
human rights are trampled unceremoniously."
Translated by MLK
Source: Activists Denounce Act of Repudiation Held During Child's
Birthday Party / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
<http://translatingcuba.com/activists-denounce-act-of-repudiation-held-during-childs-birthday-party-14ymedio/>
/ 14ymedio
Posted on November 30, 2014
This morning several activists reported an act of repudiation against
members of the Network of Community Journalists and Communicators in the
eastern city of Manzanillo.
According to reports by those to whom this newspaper had access,
Leonardo Cancio had organized the celebration in his home for the
birthday of a six-year old nephew and invited his colleagues from the
Network.
From the day before he could see around his home several women who the
activists say were convened by State Security to communicate to them
that they would not permit "a party for children organized by the
counter-revolution," and also they visited neighbors' houses to warn
them not to send their children to said activity.
From early hours a crowd, calculated at some three hundred individuals
by the members of the Network, surrounded Cancio's house in order to
impede access by the invitees. Nevertheless, some activists like Tania
de la Torre, accompanied by her daughter and granddaughter, managed to
arrive in advance. De la Torre explains that "the State Security agents
called Alexis and Julio" on seeing them come out of the house "pushed us
against the crowd" where they would have received blows and threats of
future reprisals.
In statements offered to 14ymedio by Martha Beatriz Roque, leader of
this group of independent journalists, the dissident remarked, "That is
the Cuba that the Spanish Chancellor Margallo comes to visit, where
human rights are trampled unceremoniously."
Translated by MLK
Source: Activists Denounce Act of Repudiation Held During Child's
Birthday Party / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
<http://translatingcuba.com/activists-denounce-act-of-repudiation-held-during-childs-birthday-party-14ymedio/>
Eastern Family Protests in Havana, #Cuba
Eastern Family Protests in Havana, #Cuba
Posted on December 1, 2014
The family in this video is protesting having been evicted from their
home. Of note is the openly expressed anger of the crowd at the police
action against them.
24 November 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYOJCA84NwI
Source: Eastern Family Protests in Havana, #Cuba | Translating Cuba -
<http://translatingcuba.com/eastern-family-protests-in-havana-cuba/>
Posted on December 1, 2014
The family in this video is protesting having been evicted from their
home. Of note is the openly expressed anger of the crowd at the police
action against them.
24 November 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYOJCA84NwI
Source: Eastern Family Protests in Havana, #Cuba | Translating Cuba -
<http://translatingcuba.com/eastern-family-protests-in-havana-cuba/>
How She Did It - Yoani Sánchez, TIME 100 Most Influential Person, Launches Cuban News Outlet 14ymedio
How She Did It: Yoani Sánchez, TIME 100 Most Influential Person,
Launches Cuban News Outlet 14ymedio
A groundbreaking Cuban journalist and entrepreneur, Yoani María Sánchez
Cordero gained international recognition for her depiction of Cuban life
under its present government — observed with a critical eye. Listed as
one of TIME's 100 most influential people in 2008, Sánchez has
been praised for practicing "under the nose of a regime that has never
tolerated dissent … what paper-bound journalists in her country cannot:
freedom of speech."
Sánchez achieved such acclaim and a worldwide following through her
blog, Generación Y. Available in 17 languages, Sánchez overcame the
obstacles presented by Cuban censorship by emailing the blog entries to
friends living outside Cuba, who would subsequently post them online. US
President Barack Obama proclaimed that her blog "provides the world a
unique window into the realities of daily life in Cuba" and praised her
efforts to "empower fellow Cubans to express themselves through the use
of technology."
Now, Sánchez has launched 14ymedio, a digital news outlet born out
of her efforts to enact social change within Cuba and beyond.
I interviewed Sánchez recently, in order to learn more about her
fascinating journey from Cuban public figure to international media
entrepreneur, becoming a force for change.
Tiffany Pham: What inspired you to enter into the world of journalism
and start your own impactful blog, as well as the first independent
digital media outlet in Cuba?
Yoani Sánchez: I started my blog, Generation Y, in 2007, after Fidel
Castro retired from the political scene in Cuba. I thought that,
finally, Cubans were going to be able to have an opportunity to demand
change in their political system. My blog became a way for me to
exercise my civic duty of advocating for change on the island.
There was always a desire to make the blog something bigger, to make it
a daily news outlet. After building such an important following, I knew
that it was time to transition my work from a personal narratives about
daily life in Cuba into something much bigger, led by a collective
effort. That's when 14ymedio was born.
Pham: What was your plan of action once you decided to launch 14ymedio?
Sánchez: We hoped to create with 14ymedio a new type of journalism in
Cuba, one based on facts and figures instead of propaganda.
We first needed to proof our concept. We had to show that it was in fact
possible to create a daily news outlet from the country with the least
internet penetration in the Western Hemisphere.
The first thing we did was assemble a team of reporters throughout the
island that would have the courage to write about the realities in Cuba.
It was also important to have a small team outside of Cuba to support us
by uploading our articles into a CMS and helping coordinate our social
media efforts.
We also needed a catchy name and brand that would represent a new way of
doing things in Cuba. We were founded in the 14th floor of a Soviet-era
building in Havana in 2014. I made my voice heard to the world through a
blog that carries the letter "Y" in its name - Generation Y. Cuban wit
makes us prone to puns - medio is the Spanish word for media. Put all
three together and you get 14ymedio.
We also invested in building a CMS that would support our needs and
ensure that we could have a reliable place to host our website. We
created a CMS that would allow for a variety of offline tools to
accommodate the lack of internet connectivity on the island.
With a team, brand identity, and a website, we were able to get to work
and begin reporting daily news out of Cuba. Now our goal is to grow. We
are in the midst of closing content sharing agreements with other news
sites (such as MOGUL) increasing the number of reporters and
correspondents, looking into ways to create new revenue streams,
investing in social media to grow our brand, and looking to expand our
reach inside and outside of the island.
We are at a crossroads with 14ymedio right now. It's an exciting time to
be a part of this endeavor!
Pham: What are some of the personal and professional challenges you have
faced in building such a renowned yet controversial media outlet?
Sánchez: Producing a daily news outlet from an island with limited
internet connectivity and continuous censorship is incredibly challenging.
The first challenges we overcome is that of censorship and repression.
We are currently blocked inside of Cuba, so our users on the island must
access our content through proxies and offline versions of our site
being shared through USBs. Oftentimes our reporters are brought into
questioning by State Security officials and intimidated for working with
14ymedio.
We also face serious connectivity issues. In Cuba, it is not possible to
have an open internet connection in your home like in the United States.
We operate with a basic email service that has strict quotas and limits
on attachment file sizes. When we do connect to the internet, we are
forced to pay 5 USD/hour (average salary in Cuba is 20 USD/month) at a
hotel and even there many websites are blocked and the speed is
incredibly slow. We are what you call an offline newsroom.
Our team, while incredible in their work ethic and commitment to our
mission, are not all trained to be journalists. Professional journalists
choose not work with 14ymedio because of fear of repression against
themselves or their family. So we must work with what we have, if an
engineer who wants to have his voice heard wants to work with 14ymedio,
we'll take him and work with him to make sure they can produce quality
journalism. For us, passion and deep belief in our mission is very
important and we are constantly striving to train our reporters to do
better journalism.
Lastly, we face constant distribution challenges inside Cuba. We hope to
one day be able to reach a wider number of Cubans on island but our site
continues to be blocked. However, nothing is more attractive than what
is prohibited. Cubans living on the island access our content daily
through anonymous proxies, offline versions of our full site that are
uploaded to USBs and through our RSS feeds.
Pham: What do you see as the future of 14ymedio, and what is the impact
you hope it will have upon the next generation of Cubans as well as the
world?
Sánchez: 14ymedio aims to be the person, the citizen, and the eyes
accompanying the Cuban people through the necessary transition that will
inevitably happen on the island.
It is a news outlet dedicated not only to reporting our daily reality,
but also inciting our fellow citizens to question why things happen, how
to improve them, and how to sketch that country of the future that we
all desire.
Ten years from now, we hope to be the number one trusted news source for
every Cuban on the island and for anyone in the world who wants to know
what happens inside Cuba.
Pham: How do you hope your career will inspire other young women to find
their own voice as journalists?
Sánchez: Young women (and men) have a responsibility to their country
and their fellow citizens to hold their governments accountable and
strive to be better citizens. I believe that journalism plays a crucial
role in achieving this, and I encourage others to use it as a medium to
enact social change. For those journalists working in closed societies,
it is particularly difficult to do this but I know that courage will
help you through the challenges that await.
Tiffany Pham is the Founder & CEO of MOGUL (www.onmogul.com), an
award-winning platform connecting women worldwide to top trending content.
Source: How She Did It: Yoani Sánchez, TIME 100 Most Influential Person,
Launches Cuban News Outlet 14ymedio -
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/tiffanypham/2014/11/30/how-she-did-it-yoani-sanchez-time-100-most-influential-person-launches-cuban-news-outlet-14ymedio/>
Launches Cuban News Outlet 14ymedio
A groundbreaking Cuban journalist and entrepreneur, Yoani María Sánchez
Cordero gained international recognition for her depiction of Cuban life
under its present government — observed with a critical eye. Listed as
one of TIME's 100 most influential people in 2008, Sánchez has
been praised for practicing "under the nose of a regime that has never
tolerated dissent … what paper-bound journalists in her country cannot:
freedom of speech."
Sánchez achieved such acclaim and a worldwide following through her
blog, Generación Y. Available in 17 languages, Sánchez overcame the
obstacles presented by Cuban censorship by emailing the blog entries to
friends living outside Cuba, who would subsequently post them online. US
President Barack Obama proclaimed that her blog "provides the world a
unique window into the realities of daily life in Cuba" and praised her
efforts to "empower fellow Cubans to express themselves through the use
of technology."
Now, Sánchez has launched 14ymedio, a digital news outlet born out
of her efforts to enact social change within Cuba and beyond.
I interviewed Sánchez recently, in order to learn more about her
fascinating journey from Cuban public figure to international media
entrepreneur, becoming a force for change.
Tiffany Pham: What inspired you to enter into the world of journalism
and start your own impactful blog, as well as the first independent
digital media outlet in Cuba?
Yoani Sánchez: I started my blog, Generation Y, in 2007, after Fidel
Castro retired from the political scene in Cuba. I thought that,
finally, Cubans were going to be able to have an opportunity to demand
change in their political system. My blog became a way for me to
exercise my civic duty of advocating for change on the island.
There was always a desire to make the blog something bigger, to make it
a daily news outlet. After building such an important following, I knew
that it was time to transition my work from a personal narratives about
daily life in Cuba into something much bigger, led by a collective
effort. That's when 14ymedio was born.
Pham: What was your plan of action once you decided to launch 14ymedio?
Sánchez: We hoped to create with 14ymedio a new type of journalism in
Cuba, one based on facts and figures instead of propaganda.
We first needed to proof our concept. We had to show that it was in fact
possible to create a daily news outlet from the country with the least
internet penetration in the Western Hemisphere.
The first thing we did was assemble a team of reporters throughout the
island that would have the courage to write about the realities in Cuba.
It was also important to have a small team outside of Cuba to support us
by uploading our articles into a CMS and helping coordinate our social
media efforts.
We also needed a catchy name and brand that would represent a new way of
doing things in Cuba. We were founded in the 14th floor of a Soviet-era
building in Havana in 2014. I made my voice heard to the world through a
blog that carries the letter "Y" in its name - Generation Y. Cuban wit
makes us prone to puns - medio is the Spanish word for media. Put all
three together and you get 14ymedio.
We also invested in building a CMS that would support our needs and
ensure that we could have a reliable place to host our website. We
created a CMS that would allow for a variety of offline tools to
accommodate the lack of internet connectivity on the island.
With a team, brand identity, and a website, we were able to get to work
and begin reporting daily news out of Cuba. Now our goal is to grow. We
are in the midst of closing content sharing agreements with other news
sites (such as MOGUL) increasing the number of reporters and
correspondents, looking into ways to create new revenue streams,
investing in social media to grow our brand, and looking to expand our
reach inside and outside of the island.
We are at a crossroads with 14ymedio right now. It's an exciting time to
be a part of this endeavor!
Pham: What are some of the personal and professional challenges you have
faced in building such a renowned yet controversial media outlet?
Sánchez: Producing a daily news outlet from an island with limited
internet connectivity and continuous censorship is incredibly challenging.
The first challenges we overcome is that of censorship and repression.
We are currently blocked inside of Cuba, so our users on the island must
access our content through proxies and offline versions of our site
being shared through USBs. Oftentimes our reporters are brought into
questioning by State Security officials and intimidated for working with
14ymedio.
We also face serious connectivity issues. In Cuba, it is not possible to
have an open internet connection in your home like in the United States.
We operate with a basic email service that has strict quotas and limits
on attachment file sizes. When we do connect to the internet, we are
forced to pay 5 USD/hour (average salary in Cuba is 20 USD/month) at a
hotel and even there many websites are blocked and the speed is
incredibly slow. We are what you call an offline newsroom.
Our team, while incredible in their work ethic and commitment to our
mission, are not all trained to be journalists. Professional journalists
choose not work with 14ymedio because of fear of repression against
themselves or their family. So we must work with what we have, if an
engineer who wants to have his voice heard wants to work with 14ymedio,
we'll take him and work with him to make sure they can produce quality
journalism. For us, passion and deep belief in our mission is very
important and we are constantly striving to train our reporters to do
better journalism.
Lastly, we face constant distribution challenges inside Cuba. We hope to
one day be able to reach a wider number of Cubans on island but our site
continues to be blocked. However, nothing is more attractive than what
is prohibited. Cubans living on the island access our content daily
through anonymous proxies, offline versions of our full site that are
uploaded to USBs and through our RSS feeds.
Pham: What do you see as the future of 14ymedio, and what is the impact
you hope it will have upon the next generation of Cubans as well as the
world?
Sánchez: 14ymedio aims to be the person, the citizen, and the eyes
accompanying the Cuban people through the necessary transition that will
inevitably happen on the island.
It is a news outlet dedicated not only to reporting our daily reality,
but also inciting our fellow citizens to question why things happen, how
to improve them, and how to sketch that country of the future that we
all desire.
Ten years from now, we hope to be the number one trusted news source for
every Cuban on the island and for anyone in the world who wants to know
what happens inside Cuba.
Pham: How do you hope your career will inspire other young women to find
their own voice as journalists?
Sánchez: Young women (and men) have a responsibility to their country
and their fellow citizens to hold their governments accountable and
strive to be better citizens. I believe that journalism plays a crucial
role in achieving this, and I encourage others to use it as a medium to
enact social change. For those journalists working in closed societies,
it is particularly difficult to do this but I know that courage will
help you through the challenges that await.
Tiffany Pham is the Founder & CEO of MOGUL (www.onmogul.com), an
award-winning platform connecting women worldwide to top trending content.
Source: How She Did It: Yoani Sánchez, TIME 100 Most Influential Person,
Launches Cuban News Outlet 14ymedio -
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/tiffanypham/2014/11/30/how-she-did-it-yoani-sanchez-time-100-most-influential-person-launches-cuban-news-outlet-14ymedio/>
Cuba, Iran among new offerings in Times Journeys program
Cuba, Iran among new offerings in Times Journeys program
By Johanna Jainchill
NEW YORK — Times Journeys, the New York Times' travel program, has
expanded its offerings to include 29 itineraries that visit 36 countries
on seven continents.
New itineraries for 2015 include places identified as having "troubled
pasts," such as Cuba, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Iran.
Times Journeys launched in 2012 with primarily cruise product. Earlier
this year, it expanded to include 21 land-based tours.
All Times Journeys trips include insight from New York Times experts,
primarily former and current Times reporters, into the events and
history that brought the destinations to worldwide attention.
The Times works with tour operators including Abercrombie & Kent,
Academic Travel Abroad and Mountain Travel Sobek, to develop customized
Times Journeys itineraries.
In a press conference here with several Times journalists who will be
hosting 2015 trips, the reporters explained that they would be offering
tour participants years of reporting experience that has given them
uncommon access to people and places in these countries.
"What we are offering is all of our stories over decades," said Elaine
Sciolino, speaking via Skype from Paris. Sciolino, who is hosting a trip
to Iran called Tales From Persia, was on the plane that brought the
exiled Ayatollah Khomeini back to Iran in 1979 and has been reporting
about the country ever since.
"We are not travel guides," she said. "What we have to say is, 'This is
where they fired shots into this hotel, and we were there.'"
Richard Bernstein, host of a March itinerary titled "A Taste of the
Orient: Discover China," was one of the first American journalists to be
stationed in the People's Republic of China, in 1972, and he opened the
Times' bureau there in 1980.
Sue Jaeger, manager of small group journeys for Abercrombie & Kent, said
that the journalists offer complementary perspectives to those of the
company's own local expert guides.
"The guides live in these communities and can speak as locals, while the
journalists can speak as visitors who have unique access as
journalists," she said.
Other experts include Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters such as John
Burns, Jeffrey Gettleman, Serge Schmemann and David Shipler.
Times Journeys will be offered in six distinct trip styles: Activities &
Sports includes hiking the mountains of Patagonia; Food & Wine focuses
on Italian or Provencal cuisine; Arts & Culture offers immersion in
subjects such as Irish opera and photography in Morocco; History &
Context includes trips to China, Cuba and Iran; Science & Nature offers
visits to Antarctica and Africa; and Politics & Perspective includes
trips to Ireland, with a focus on the Northern Ireland peace process.
Source: Cuba, Iran among new offerings in Times Journeys program -
Travel Weekly -
<http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Tour-Operators/Cuba-and-Iran-among-new-offerings-in-Times-Journeys-program/>
By Johanna Jainchill
NEW YORK — Times Journeys, the New York Times' travel program, has
expanded its offerings to include 29 itineraries that visit 36 countries
on seven continents.
New itineraries for 2015 include places identified as having "troubled
pasts," such as Cuba, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Iran.
Times Journeys launched in 2012 with primarily cruise product. Earlier
this year, it expanded to include 21 land-based tours.
All Times Journeys trips include insight from New York Times experts,
primarily former and current Times reporters, into the events and
history that brought the destinations to worldwide attention.
The Times works with tour operators including Abercrombie & Kent,
Academic Travel Abroad and Mountain Travel Sobek, to develop customized
Times Journeys itineraries.
In a press conference here with several Times journalists who will be
hosting 2015 trips, the reporters explained that they would be offering
tour participants years of reporting experience that has given them
uncommon access to people and places in these countries.
"What we are offering is all of our stories over decades," said Elaine
Sciolino, speaking via Skype from Paris. Sciolino, who is hosting a trip
to Iran called Tales From Persia, was on the plane that brought the
exiled Ayatollah Khomeini back to Iran in 1979 and has been reporting
about the country ever since.
"We are not travel guides," she said. "What we have to say is, 'This is
where they fired shots into this hotel, and we were there.'"
Richard Bernstein, host of a March itinerary titled "A Taste of the
Orient: Discover China," was one of the first American journalists to be
stationed in the People's Republic of China, in 1972, and he opened the
Times' bureau there in 1980.
Sue Jaeger, manager of small group journeys for Abercrombie & Kent, said
that the journalists offer complementary perspectives to those of the
company's own local expert guides.
"The guides live in these communities and can speak as locals, while the
journalists can speak as visitors who have unique access as
journalists," she said.
Other experts include Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters such as John
Burns, Jeffrey Gettleman, Serge Schmemann and David Shipler.
Times Journeys will be offered in six distinct trip styles: Activities &
Sports includes hiking the mountains of Patagonia; Food & Wine focuses
on Italian or Provencal cuisine; Arts & Culture offers immersion in
subjects such as Irish opera and photography in Morocco; History &
Context includes trips to China, Cuba and Iran; Science & Nature offers
visits to Antarctica and Africa; and Politics & Perspective includes
trips to Ireland, with a focus on the Northern Ireland peace process.
Source: Cuba, Iran among new offerings in Times Journeys program -
Travel Weekly -
<http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Tour-Operators/Cuba-and-Iran-among-new-offerings-in-Times-Journeys-program/>
Alan Gross losing hope after 5 years in Cuban prison
Alan Gross losing hope after 5 years in Cuban prison
BY MIMI WHITEFIELD MWHITEFIELD@MIAMIHERALD.COM
11/30/2014 7:01 PM 12/01/2014 12:01 AM
In this Dec. 3, 2013 file photo, supporters of Alan Gross, on poster at
left, mark his fourth year in a Cuban prison with a protest in Lafayette
Park, across from the White House in Washington, D.C. CHARLES DHARAPAK AP
Story
Comments
As the fifth anniversary of the arrest and imprisonment of U.S. Agency
for International Development subcontractor Alan Gross in Cuba
approaches, he has received recent visits from his lawyer and two
senators but refuses to see U.S. diplomats in Havana.
It's a reflection of his frustration with the U.S. government and its
efforts to win his freedom. Since his arrest on Dec. 3, 2009, for
smuggling satellite communications equipment to Cuba as part of USAID's
pro-democracy programs, Gross has grown increasingly despondent and his
wife Judy has said she worries that he'll "do something drastic" if he
isn't released soon.
"President Obama needs to bring Alan home now,'' said Scott Gilbert,
Gross' lawyer.
A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. is trying to do that: "We
continue to use every possible diplomatic channel to press for Mr.
Gross' release, repeatedly, both publicly and privately. We have also
enlisted governments around the world and prominent figures to press for
Mr. Gross' release."
Just before he turned 65 last May 2, Gross — who is serving his 15-year
sentence at the Carlos J. Finlay Military Hospital in Havana — announced
"it will be my last birthday here." When his wife visited in June, he
said his goodbyes.
"We must remember that Alan was in Cuba serving the U.S. government
[USAID is part of the State Department]," said Gilbert, a Washington
lawyer who visited Gross in Havana last week. "Alan is about to give up,
and we are running out of time."
When Peter Kornbluh, a National Security Archive analyst, visited Gross
in prison last December he found that the development specialist's
physical condition seemed improved from a four-hour visit he had with
him in November 2012, but that his mental state had deteriorated.
Gross had gained back 23 of the 110 pounds he had lost and showed the
muscles he was developing with daily exercises. When Kornbluh asked him
if he was bulking up in preparation for a hunger strike, Gross instead
indicated a door separating their meeting room from the rest of the
prison. "Flimsy," he noted.
Kornbluh said that when he mentioned there were large, well-armed guards
on the other side, Gross responded: "I'm not afraid of anyone and God
help the person who challenges that. I'm a ticking time bomb…. Tick,
tick, tick."
Gross did, in fact, stage a nine-day hunger strike in April to protest
the lack of progress toward his release and grew even more depressed
after his mother, 92-year-old Evelyn Gross, died of cancer in June. The
Cuban government refused furlough requests from Gross during her illness
and to attend her funeral.
In the five years since Gross was arrested on his fifth trip to Cuba,
the wedge between his family and the U.S. government has grown.
In a $60-million lawsuit filed in federal court in the District of
Columbia, the Grosses blamed the U.S. government and Development
Alternatives Inc., the Maryland-based international development firm
that subcontracted the USAID project to Gross, for failing to adequately
train and prepare him for the risky situation he would face in Cuba.
In a memo submitted to DAI after his third trip to the island, for
example, he outlined his mounting concern: "This is very risky business
in no uncertain terms. Provincial authorities are apparently very strict
when it comes to unauthorized use of radio frequencies.... Detection
usually means confiscation of equipment and arrest of users." DAI,
according to the suit, ignored Gross' worries.
A judge dismissed the negligence case, saying the U.S. government is
immune from any claim arising in a foreign country, and earlier this
month the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
affirmed the dismissal. DAI settled with the Gross family for an
undisclosed sum.
But Scott said the Grosses' legal fight isn't over. He intends to
petition the Supreme Court for review of the case.
The State Department has described Gross' activities in Cuba as an
effort to bring Internet access to the Jewish community and insists the
program wasn't covert but rather "discreet."
But the Cuban government said Gross wasn't prosecuted for bringing
Internet access to Jewish communities in Havana, Camagüey and Santiago
de Cuba, which already were connected to the Internet before Gross made
his visits.
In a document defending their treatment of Gross, the Cubans said he was
convicted for "illegally and covertly introducing into Cuba
communication equipment" meant only for military purposes and to create
clandestine networks for the transmission and reception of data for a
program aimed at "subverting Cuba's constitutional order."
Documents made public during the Grosses' federal lawsuit also provide
details about the pilot project that Gross called Para la Isla (For the
Island). After making contact with the three Jewish communities and
setting up wireless networks, a proposal for a $332,334 expansion of the
project called for reaching three more target groups and providing them
with "Telco-In-a-Bag."
Such bags were to be filled with a Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN)
modem, four SIM cards, four iPods, a "discreet BGAN SIM card," four
unlocked smartphones, a wireless router, MacBook, cables for TV hookup,
flash drives and other equipment that would allow a global Internet
satellite link to make phone calls and send emails. The discreet SIM
Cards, Gross indicated, would make it difficult to track and locate signals.
The proposal notes that if BGAN usage for Internet access were
discovered by Cuban authorities, it would be "catastrophic."
Gross was beginning the next phase of the project when he was arrested.
These days he spends his time in a 10-by-12-foot cell with two other
prisoners. There is a small meeting room attached. A small table was
laid out with coffee and sweets both times Kornbluh visited.
But lately Gross has "been adamant about not wanting to see most
people," said a family spokesman. Personnel from the U.S. Interests
Section used to visit monthly, but now Gross rebuffs those visits.
He did, however, see Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM,
a few weeks ago during their trip to the island.
The senators, who both are critical of the U.S. embargo against Cuba,
said there wasn't any indication that his release was imminent. But at a
news conference , Flake said, "I do feel we are closer there. One,
because of what Alan Gross has said himself — this is going to end one
way or another. We have gone on five years and any benefit the Cuban
government may have seen has to have evaporated."
Flake said another positive was that "there won't be any more covert
programs run out of AID anymore." He was referring to an Associated
Press report that USAID was preparing internal rules that would, in
effect, end its undercover work — such as the program Gross was engaged
in and another that aimed to set up a secretive Twitter-like social
network to encourage young Cuban dissidents — in hostile countries.
Gross' case, which has thwarted improvement in the difficult U.S.-Cuba
relationship, is also complicated by its intersection with another
politically and emotionally charged case — that of five Cubans convicted
in 2001 of infiltrating South Florida military installations and spying
on the exile community.
Prosecutors linked their intelligence activities to the Feb. 24, 1996,
shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue planes as they neared island
air space, resulting in the deaths of four exile pilots.
The Brothers, an exile group that searched the Florida Straits for
overdue rafters, also had repeatedly flown into Cuban airspace in the
past, dropping leaflets, and, once, medallions that said "Brothers not
Comrades" over Cuba.
The Cuban agents were part of a larger group sent to Miami in the 1990s
as Havana grew increasingly testy over a series of hotel bombings linked
to exiles and the airspace incursions. The five were convicted of
various conspiracy-related and espionage charges and sentenced to
lengthy terms in federal prison.
While the U.S. government has repeatedly called for the immediate,
humanitarian release of Gross, the Cuban government has said that the
United States can't make such a unilateral demand without taking into
consideration humanitarian concerns for the agents, known as the Cuban Five.
In the time Gross has been in jail,, the Cuban Five — who have been
elevated to hero status in Cuba — have become the Cuban Three.
Two of the Cuban spies — René González, who was released in 2011 and
spent a year on probation in the United States, and Fernando González,
who was released in February after serving 15 years — are now back in Cuba.
The next two Cubans are scheduled for release in 2017 and 2024, but
Gerardo Hernández, who was also convicted of conspiracy to commit
murder, is serving two life sentences and isn't eligible for parole.
The United States has said many times it is not considering release of
any of the Cubans in exchange for Gross because the USAID subcontractor
isn't a spy and can't be part of a spy-for-spy swap.
Last week a State Department spokesperson explained: "We've always made
it clear that there's no equivalence between an international
development worker imprisoned... for doing nothing more than helping
Cuban citizens gain access to the Internet, and convicted Cuban
intelligence agents."
But there is, in fact, historical precedent for non-equivalent swaps.
Twice before there have been these non-trade trades couched as separate,
dual humanitarian gestures.
In their new book, Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of
Negotiations Between Washington and Havana, William LeoGrande and
Kornbluh outline a tricky negotiation during the Carter administration
to win release of four CIA agents held in Havana.
Fidel Castro at first balked, saying the agents had conspired to
overthrow the government and take the lives of Cuban leaders and
compared them to four Puerto Rican nationalists jailed in the United
States for opening fire from the visitors' gallery of the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1954, wounding five congressmen, and for the
attempted assassination of President Harry Truman in 1950.
Castro, long sympathetic to the cause of Puerto Rican independence,
suggested an exchange. But the United States didn't want an explicit
quid pro quo, the book said. Months passed but on Sept. 6, 1979,
President Jimmy Carter announced clemency for the Puerto Ricans and 11
days later Castro ordered the release of the four CIA agents in a
"reciprocal humanitarian gesture."
"We never gave up trying to get our spies out," said Kornbluh. "If
[Gross] were a real CIA guy, the CIA would be pushing for his release."
In 1963, there were also negotiations for release of prisoners held by
both sides. They culminated in the same day release of 27 U.S. citizens
(including three CIA agents) arrested as spies and saboteurs in Cuba,
and four Cubans jailed in the U.S. One of those Cubans had been
convicted in the accidental shooting of a nine-year-old girl during a
1960 clash with anti-Castro Cubans. The others were charged with
plotting sabotage in New York.
They were not defined as prisoner swaps but rather mutual acts of
clemency, according to the book.
Kornbluh and LeoGrande said these two precedents might suggest a way
forward in winning Gross' release. "If the United States is serious
about getting Gross out, then it will have to have a more flexible
position," said LeoGrande, an American University government professor
who specializes in Latin America.
But for South Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, this is no
time to show flexibility toward the Cuban government.
Alan Gross "should have never been jailed and should be released
unconditionally," she said in a statement. "A cavalcade of diplomats,
members of Congress and others have visited Gross in prison to no avail.
Additionally, the Obama administration eased sanctions in 2011 with no
benefit for Gross."
Now, she said, it is time for the administration to "tighten sanctions
to punish the regime's criminal act and continue to press for Gross'
release."
Meanwhile, Gross' family and his supporters keep up the steady drumbeat
for his release despite the lack of progress. "We like to remain
hopeful,'' said the family spokesman.
Source: Alan Gross losing hope after 5 years in Cuban prison | The Miami
Herald -
<http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article4189840.html>
BY MIMI WHITEFIELD MWHITEFIELD@MIAMIHERALD.COM
11/30/2014 7:01 PM 12/01/2014 12:01 AM
In this Dec. 3, 2013 file photo, supporters of Alan Gross, on poster at
left, mark his fourth year in a Cuban prison with a protest in Lafayette
Park, across from the White House in Washington, D.C. CHARLES DHARAPAK AP
Story
Comments
As the fifth anniversary of the arrest and imprisonment of U.S. Agency
for International Development subcontractor Alan Gross in Cuba
approaches, he has received recent visits from his lawyer and two
senators but refuses to see U.S. diplomats in Havana.
It's a reflection of his frustration with the U.S. government and its
efforts to win his freedom. Since his arrest on Dec. 3, 2009, for
smuggling satellite communications equipment to Cuba as part of USAID's
pro-democracy programs, Gross has grown increasingly despondent and his
wife Judy has said she worries that he'll "do something drastic" if he
isn't released soon.
"President Obama needs to bring Alan home now,'' said Scott Gilbert,
Gross' lawyer.
A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. is trying to do that: "We
continue to use every possible diplomatic channel to press for Mr.
Gross' release, repeatedly, both publicly and privately. We have also
enlisted governments around the world and prominent figures to press for
Mr. Gross' release."
Just before he turned 65 last May 2, Gross — who is serving his 15-year
sentence at the Carlos J. Finlay Military Hospital in Havana — announced
"it will be my last birthday here." When his wife visited in June, he
said his goodbyes.
"We must remember that Alan was in Cuba serving the U.S. government
[USAID is part of the State Department]," said Gilbert, a Washington
lawyer who visited Gross in Havana last week. "Alan is about to give up,
and we are running out of time."
When Peter Kornbluh, a National Security Archive analyst, visited Gross
in prison last December he found that the development specialist's
physical condition seemed improved from a four-hour visit he had with
him in November 2012, but that his mental state had deteriorated.
Gross had gained back 23 of the 110 pounds he had lost and showed the
muscles he was developing with daily exercises. When Kornbluh asked him
if he was bulking up in preparation for a hunger strike, Gross instead
indicated a door separating their meeting room from the rest of the
prison. "Flimsy," he noted.
Kornbluh said that when he mentioned there were large, well-armed guards
on the other side, Gross responded: "I'm not afraid of anyone and God
help the person who challenges that. I'm a ticking time bomb…. Tick,
tick, tick."
Gross did, in fact, stage a nine-day hunger strike in April to protest
the lack of progress toward his release and grew even more depressed
after his mother, 92-year-old Evelyn Gross, died of cancer in June. The
Cuban government refused furlough requests from Gross during her illness
and to attend her funeral.
In the five years since Gross was arrested on his fifth trip to Cuba,
the wedge between his family and the U.S. government has grown.
In a $60-million lawsuit filed in federal court in the District of
Columbia, the Grosses blamed the U.S. government and Development
Alternatives Inc., the Maryland-based international development firm
that subcontracted the USAID project to Gross, for failing to adequately
train and prepare him for the risky situation he would face in Cuba.
In a memo submitted to DAI after his third trip to the island, for
example, he outlined his mounting concern: "This is very risky business
in no uncertain terms. Provincial authorities are apparently very strict
when it comes to unauthorized use of radio frequencies.... Detection
usually means confiscation of equipment and arrest of users." DAI,
according to the suit, ignored Gross' worries.
A judge dismissed the negligence case, saying the U.S. government is
immune from any claim arising in a foreign country, and earlier this
month the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
affirmed the dismissal. DAI settled with the Gross family for an
undisclosed sum.
But Scott said the Grosses' legal fight isn't over. He intends to
petition the Supreme Court for review of the case.
The State Department has described Gross' activities in Cuba as an
effort to bring Internet access to the Jewish community and insists the
program wasn't covert but rather "discreet."
But the Cuban government said Gross wasn't prosecuted for bringing
Internet access to Jewish communities in Havana, Camagüey and Santiago
de Cuba, which already were connected to the Internet before Gross made
his visits.
In a document defending their treatment of Gross, the Cubans said he was
convicted for "illegally and covertly introducing into Cuba
communication equipment" meant only for military purposes and to create
clandestine networks for the transmission and reception of data for a
program aimed at "subverting Cuba's constitutional order."
Documents made public during the Grosses' federal lawsuit also provide
details about the pilot project that Gross called Para la Isla (For the
Island). After making contact with the three Jewish communities and
setting up wireless networks, a proposal for a $332,334 expansion of the
project called for reaching three more target groups and providing them
with "Telco-In-a-Bag."
Such bags were to be filled with a Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN)
modem, four SIM cards, four iPods, a "discreet BGAN SIM card," four
unlocked smartphones, a wireless router, MacBook, cables for TV hookup,
flash drives and other equipment that would allow a global Internet
satellite link to make phone calls and send emails. The discreet SIM
Cards, Gross indicated, would make it difficult to track and locate signals.
The proposal notes that if BGAN usage for Internet access were
discovered by Cuban authorities, it would be "catastrophic."
Gross was beginning the next phase of the project when he was arrested.
These days he spends his time in a 10-by-12-foot cell with two other
prisoners. There is a small meeting room attached. A small table was
laid out with coffee and sweets both times Kornbluh visited.
But lately Gross has "been adamant about not wanting to see most
people," said a family spokesman. Personnel from the U.S. Interests
Section used to visit monthly, but now Gross rebuffs those visits.
He did, however, see Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM,
a few weeks ago during their trip to the island.
The senators, who both are critical of the U.S. embargo against Cuba,
said there wasn't any indication that his release was imminent. But at a
news conference , Flake said, "I do feel we are closer there. One,
because of what Alan Gross has said himself — this is going to end one
way or another. We have gone on five years and any benefit the Cuban
government may have seen has to have evaporated."
Flake said another positive was that "there won't be any more covert
programs run out of AID anymore." He was referring to an Associated
Press report that USAID was preparing internal rules that would, in
effect, end its undercover work — such as the program Gross was engaged
in and another that aimed to set up a secretive Twitter-like social
network to encourage young Cuban dissidents — in hostile countries.
Gross' case, which has thwarted improvement in the difficult U.S.-Cuba
relationship, is also complicated by its intersection with another
politically and emotionally charged case — that of five Cubans convicted
in 2001 of infiltrating South Florida military installations and spying
on the exile community.
Prosecutors linked their intelligence activities to the Feb. 24, 1996,
shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue planes as they neared island
air space, resulting in the deaths of four exile pilots.
The Brothers, an exile group that searched the Florida Straits for
overdue rafters, also had repeatedly flown into Cuban airspace in the
past, dropping leaflets, and, once, medallions that said "Brothers not
Comrades" over Cuba.
The Cuban agents were part of a larger group sent to Miami in the 1990s
as Havana grew increasingly testy over a series of hotel bombings linked
to exiles and the airspace incursions. The five were convicted of
various conspiracy-related and espionage charges and sentenced to
lengthy terms in federal prison.
While the U.S. government has repeatedly called for the immediate,
humanitarian release of Gross, the Cuban government has said that the
United States can't make such a unilateral demand without taking into
consideration humanitarian concerns for the agents, known as the Cuban Five.
In the time Gross has been in jail,, the Cuban Five — who have been
elevated to hero status in Cuba — have become the Cuban Three.
Two of the Cuban spies — René González, who was released in 2011 and
spent a year on probation in the United States, and Fernando González,
who was released in February after serving 15 years — are now back in Cuba.
The next two Cubans are scheduled for release in 2017 and 2024, but
Gerardo Hernández, who was also convicted of conspiracy to commit
murder, is serving two life sentences and isn't eligible for parole.
The United States has said many times it is not considering release of
any of the Cubans in exchange for Gross because the USAID subcontractor
isn't a spy and can't be part of a spy-for-spy swap.
Last week a State Department spokesperson explained: "We've always made
it clear that there's no equivalence between an international
development worker imprisoned... for doing nothing more than helping
Cuban citizens gain access to the Internet, and convicted Cuban
intelligence agents."
But there is, in fact, historical precedent for non-equivalent swaps.
Twice before there have been these non-trade trades couched as separate,
dual humanitarian gestures.
In their new book, Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of
Negotiations Between Washington and Havana, William LeoGrande and
Kornbluh outline a tricky negotiation during the Carter administration
to win release of four CIA agents held in Havana.
Fidel Castro at first balked, saying the agents had conspired to
overthrow the government and take the lives of Cuban leaders and
compared them to four Puerto Rican nationalists jailed in the United
States for opening fire from the visitors' gallery of the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1954, wounding five congressmen, and for the
attempted assassination of President Harry Truman in 1950.
Castro, long sympathetic to the cause of Puerto Rican independence,
suggested an exchange. But the United States didn't want an explicit
quid pro quo, the book said. Months passed but on Sept. 6, 1979,
President Jimmy Carter announced clemency for the Puerto Ricans and 11
days later Castro ordered the release of the four CIA agents in a
"reciprocal humanitarian gesture."
"We never gave up trying to get our spies out," said Kornbluh. "If
[Gross] were a real CIA guy, the CIA would be pushing for his release."
In 1963, there were also negotiations for release of prisoners held by
both sides. They culminated in the same day release of 27 U.S. citizens
(including three CIA agents) arrested as spies and saboteurs in Cuba,
and four Cubans jailed in the U.S. One of those Cubans had been
convicted in the accidental shooting of a nine-year-old girl during a
1960 clash with anti-Castro Cubans. The others were charged with
plotting sabotage in New York.
They were not defined as prisoner swaps but rather mutual acts of
clemency, according to the book.
Kornbluh and LeoGrande said these two precedents might suggest a way
forward in winning Gross' release. "If the United States is serious
about getting Gross out, then it will have to have a more flexible
position," said LeoGrande, an American University government professor
who specializes in Latin America.
But for South Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, this is no
time to show flexibility toward the Cuban government.
Alan Gross "should have never been jailed and should be released
unconditionally," she said in a statement. "A cavalcade of diplomats,
members of Congress and others have visited Gross in prison to no avail.
Additionally, the Obama administration eased sanctions in 2011 with no
benefit for Gross."
Now, she said, it is time for the administration to "tighten sanctions
to punish the regime's criminal act and continue to press for Gross'
release."
Meanwhile, Gross' family and his supporters keep up the steady drumbeat
for his release despite the lack of progress. "We like to remain
hopeful,'' said the family spokesman.
Source: Alan Gross losing hope after 5 years in Cuban prison | The Miami
Herald -
<http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article4189840.html>
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