DieHardBrownsFan Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 US, Cuba reportedly seek to normalize relations after Alan Gross released Published December 17, 2014FoxNews.com Facebook0 Twitter0 livefyre408 Email Print DEVELOPING ... U.S. officials say the Obama administration plans to start talks with Cuba on normalizing full diplomatic relations and opening an embassy, after American Alan Gross was released from Cuba as part of a prisoner swap. ORIGINAL STORY ... American Alan Gross has been released from Cuba after five years in prison and is on his way back to the United States, as part of a deal that included the release of Cubans jailed in the U.S. A senior Obama administration official told Fox News that Gross left Cuba on a U.S. government plane Wednesday morning. "Mr. Gross was released on humanitarian grounds by the Cuban government at the request of the United States," the official said. Officials told The Associated Press that Gross' release coincided with the release of three Cubans held in the U.S. President Obama is expected to speak about the release at noon on Wednesday. Obama administration officials have considered Gross' imprisonment an impediment to improving relations with Cuba, but the surprise deal could help clear the way for broader discussions on ties and perhaps ending the decades-long U.S. economic embargo against its long-time communist foe. The release follows years of desperate appeals by Gross and his family. His wife, Judy Gross, said earlier this year that she feared for his life, saying he might do "something drastic." Gross was detained in December 2009 while working to set up Internet access as a subcontractor for the U.S. government's U.S. Agency for International Development, which does work promoting democracy in the communist country. It was his fifth trip to Cuba to work with Jewish communities on setting up Internet access that bypassed local censorship. 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. The three Cubans released in exchange for Gross are part of the so-called Cuban Five -- a group of men who were part of the "Wasp Network" sent by Cuba's then-President Fidel Castro to spy in South Florida. The men, who are hailed as heroes in Cuba, were convicted in 2001 in Miami on charges including conspiracy and failure to register as foreign agents in the U.S. Two of the Cuban Five were previously released after finishing their sentences. In a statement marking the fifth anniversary of Gross' detention earlier this month, Obama hinted that his release could lead to a thaw in relations with Cuba. "The Cuban Government's release of Alan on humanitarian grounds would remove an impediment to more constructive relations between the United States and Cuba," Obama said in a statement. The president has taken some steps to ease U.S. restrictions on Cuba after Raul Castro took over as president in 2010 from his ailing brother. He has sought to ease travel and financial restrictions on Americans with family in Cuba, but has resisted calls to drop the embargo. The surprise prisoner swap has echoes of the deal the U.S. cut earlier this year to secure the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by the Taliban. In exchange for his release in May, the U.S. turned over five Taliban prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Fox News' Wes Barrett and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadbrownsfan Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 So how are these Cuban terrorists? They are\where Cuban spies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicIsForSquares Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 There is nothing in common with these cases other than human beings were exchanged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axe Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 That's almost as bad as the deal the Rays made with the Padres today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted December 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 The only good thing to come of this deal as that you will be able to legally obtain Cuban cigars. If you smoke that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gftChris Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 The only good thing to come of this deal as that you will be able to legally obtain Cuban cigars. If you smoke that is. Also, the cost to the US economy of the trade embargo is about $2bn per year. So there's that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calfoxwc Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 His overtures to Iran, and the Soviets, and Cuba, N. Korea.. Venzuela... what next? A national monument and holiday here, to che guevara ? What the.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicIsForSquares Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 I think the end of the embargo is just a good way for our culture to invade Cuba and do what the embargo intended to do years ago. Once Cubans have more money in their pockets, they won't put up with commie horse shit. You are starting to see it in China now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted December 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu6Ra59RSis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 It'd be nice to travel to cuba. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicIsForSquares Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 Car collectors will go nuts if they can go down there and pick up vintage parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairHooker11 Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 I was thinking cash for clunkers for them too ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuwoohio Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 The US policy toward Cuba for the last 50 years has accomplished nothing. Everyone else was afraid of the political backlash from Florida if we made nice with Cuba. I'ts been long over due, and even most of south Florida is down with it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns149 Posted December 19, 2014 Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 You will only be able to get the cigars if you go there. It is illegal to get them in Cuba and sell them here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gftChris Posted December 19, 2014 Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/12/pope-francis-cuba-us-deal-diplomacy Super Pope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted December 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 You will only be able to get the cigars if you go there. It is illegal to get them in Cuba and sell them here If we establish diplomatic relations with them, I'm sure it will become legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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