Biden to Cuban media - Alan Gross detention a key obstacle in diplomatic relations

Biden to Cuban media: Alan Gross detention a key obstacle in diplomatic
relations
CNN's Dana Davidsen

(CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden sat down with a Cuban media outlet - a
significant move given the decades-long tension between the United
States and Cuba since the countries ended diplomatic relations more than
50 years ago.

In the interview published Tuesday, Biden cited the detention of Alan
Gross, an American jailed in Cuba, as a key obstacle in improving relations.

Biden made his comments to 14ymedio, a recently launched digital
newspaper created by Yoani Sánchez, a Cuban blogger and fierce critic of
the governments of Raul and Fidel Castro.

"I cannot emphasize enough that Cuba's continued detention of Alan Gross
is a major impediment to improved relations between the United States
and Cuba," Biden said, according to a translation provided by his office.

Gross was convicted in 2011 for bringing satellite communications
equipment into the country as part of his work as a subcontractor for
the U.S. Agency for International Development.

U.S. officials have said Gross was simply trying to help Cubans bypass
their government's stringent restrictions on Internet access.

"We can be as creative as we like with our policy, but Alan's case
remains at the top of our list for resolution. He deserves to come home,
and should be released on humanitarian grounds," Biden said.

President Barack Obama also answered questions from Sánchez in 2009,
which she posted to her blog.

In that interview, Obama responded to a question regarding allegations
that his administration was attempting to undermine Cuban authority,
throwing cold water on the notion that the United States had plans to
invade the island.

"I can give you the simplest of answers, and that answer is no. Just as
President Obama said," Biden said when asked about those concerns.
"These accusations are a relic of the distant past. They are being used
to strike fear into the hearts of decent Cubans who might otherwise
focus on problems closer to home."

Sánchez's journalistic venture was, until Sunday, blocked by users in
Cuba. Since the publication's launch last week, for a few days, users
were redirected to website apparently dedicated to slamming Sánchez and
government dissidents, according to the Miami Herald.

The interview with Biden took place in April, as Sánchez notes in the
article, while she was in Washington.

Further stoking fears in the Cuban government that Washington is trying
to subvert its authority are accusations that the U.S. government tried
to flood communications networks with the creation of a cell phone-based
"Cuban Twitter," known as ZunZuneo.

The program, which ended in 2012, allowed Cubans to message each other
free of Cuban government restrictions on communications and allowed U.S.
government officials to send mass messages to Cubans.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann and Jim Acosta contributed to this report.

Source: "Biden to Cuban media: Alan Gross detention a key obstacle in
diplomatic relations – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs" -
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