By Mary Beth Sheridan, Published: September 11
The Cuban government has rebuffed a mission by former New Mexico
governor Bill Richardson to free a U.S. government contractor jailed in
Havana, even ruling out a visit with the man, Richardson said Sunday.
Richardson vowed to remain in Cuba until he was allowed to see jailed
American Alan P. Gross.
"We were supposed to leave yesterday. We've extended our stay in the
hotel. My position is, I'm not planning to leave until I get a chance to
visit Alan Gross," Richardson said in a telephone interview from Havana.
Cuba's action appeared to be an extraordinary snub of the prominent,
Spanish-speaking Democrat and former U.N. ambassador who has had cordial
relations with the island's government. There was no word from the Cuban
government on why Richardson couldn't see Gross, who has routinely
received visits from U.S. diplomats and members of Congress.
Gross, 62, was arrested in December 2009 while working on a secretive
democracy program in Cuba for the U.S. Agency for International
Development. His detention has grown into a major impediment to
President Obama's goal of improving relations with Cuba.
Richardson, who has long supported improved relations with Cuba, said he
was "flabbergasted" by his treatment. He was invited to Havana by the
Cuban government to discuss the Gross case, he said, leading to hopes of
a breakthrough. Cuban parliament leader Ricardo Alarcon last week
described Richardson's trip as "noble."
But Richardson said there appeared to be disagreements within the Cuban
government on what to do with Gross.
"My sense is, there are some elements in their government that don't
want to improve relations with the U.S.," Richardson said.
While Richardson traveled as a private citizen, his trip was welcomed by
the State Department, which briefed him before he set out on Sept. 7. In
a meeting Thursday, Richardson conveyed to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno
Rodriguez the U.S. position that "if you release Alan Gross, there are a
number of areas of cooperation we can talk about," Richardson said.
But "their inclination is not to do that," he said.
The Obama administration has eased some Cuba travel and financial
restrictions imposed by President George W. Bush. But further
cooperation on matters such as immigration, the environment and drug
trafficking has stalled, officials say. In addition, Cuba is unlikely to
get its wish to be removed from the U.S. list of terror-sponsoring
countries while Gross is held, American officials say.
American diplomats had hoped Cuba would deport Gross after he was
sentenced in March to 15 years in prison. They say Cuban authorities
have never explicitly asked for anything in exchange for his release.
But Cuban authorities have been angered by the Obama administration's
continuation of the secretive democracy program on the island, which had
grown significantly under Bush, analysts say.
The Obama administration defends the program as part of a global effort
to support basic freedoms. The 2011 budget provides $20 million for the
Cuba effort, up from $15 million the previous year.
Cuba considers the democracy-promotion activities illegal, since they
fall under the Helms-Burton law, which calls for regime change on the
island.
Gross was providing satellite phone and computer equipment to the
island's Jewish community, under a $6 million contract won by his
employer, Development Alternatives Inc. of Bethesda.
Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador, has spent his career traveling to
hot spots such as Iraq, North Korea and Sudan to negotiate the release
of jailed Americans.
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