Free Alan Gross

Free Alan Gross
By Post Editorial Board December 2, 2014 | 7:43pm
Modal Trigger

In his Cuban prison cell today, Alan Gross marks a gloomy anniversary:
Five years ago, he was arrested while working as a subcontractor for the
US Agency for International Development.
Gross was in Cuba to help connect the island's Jewish communities to the
Internet. In a Communist society, this is called "subverting Cuba's
constitutional order," and Gross was sentenced to 15 years. Since then,
his health has deteriorated.
Washington always has an obligation when an American is unjustly
imprisoned abroad. In this case, our responsibility is even larger,
because Gross was jailed for work he was doing for the US government.
Yet five years later, Gross languishes in prison on the island gulag.
We recognize these cases are difficult. But they are not impossible.
Recently the Obama administration managed to get three Americans from
North Korea released. Meanwhile, down in Mexico steady coverage from Fox
News helped bring home a US Marine outrageously imprisoned after making
a wrong turn.
In recent months, there's been speculation President Obama might try to
lift the embargo in an effort to normalize relations with Havana. For
its part, Havana has insisted it would release Alan Gross in exchange
for several Cuban spies now serving time in American jails.
There's certainly an opportunity here, but Havana has it backward: The
main normalization Cuba needs to do is with its own people. And if the
Castro regime wants better relations with Uncle Sam, let it start with a
show of good faith — by releasing Alan Gross with no questions asked.

Source: Free Alan Gross | New York Post -
<http://nypost.com/2014/12/02/free-alan-gross/>