Why Five Years in Cuban Prison Sold Alan Gross on Obama's Visit

Why Five Years in Cuban Prison Sold Alan Gross on Obama's Visit
Margaret Talev
March 11, 2016 — 11:00 AM CET

It took five years, Pope Francis, President Barack Obama, and the
exchange of three Cuban spies to get Alan Gross, gaunt and
broken-toothed, out of a Havana prison.
But 15 months after his return to the U.S., and days before Obama
departs for a historic trip to Cuba on March 20, there may be no
stronger advocate for fully restoring U.S. relations with the island
nation and lifting a decades-old trade embargo.
"His interest in going to Cuba is a very courageous thing to do, as was
the decision to bring me home," Gross said of Obama. The former
contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development --
imprisoned for bringing prohibited Internet technology onto the island
without a permit -- said he'd go back to Cuba himself in a heartbeat, if
the Cuban government would allow it. He'd even suggested going as part
of Obama's delegation because of the message it would convey.
"Somebody would ask, 'Why would you want to go back there?'" Gross said
during an interview in the Washington condominium where he and his wife
have sought to rebuild their lives since he came home. "The answer is
simple: The people. The Cubans -- Cubanos -- are wonderful people."
Cuba's Future
In talking about Cuba and his experience, Gross paints a picture of an
island population suffering in poverty under a repressive government
with their future constricted as long as an outdated U.S. trade embargo
remains in place. He sees the Castro regime's time as limited and
Obama's trip a prod for change.
Gross, who volunteered for Obama's 2008 campaign but has not endorsed a
presidential candidate this year, expressed significant frustration with
U.S. politicians in both parties who oppose establishing a broader
relationship with Cuba. He said they, along with the Cuban government,
are complicit in fostering the diplomatic tensions that kept him in
prison for so long.
"If we're the leading country in the world, then we should lead by
example" and stop "punishing a country for something that happened in
the past that they're trying to climb out of," Gross said. "People just
don't understand: Life in Cuba for 11.3 million people is horrendous.
They are just as much prisoners as I was."
Castro's 'Excuse'
The Cuban government, led by Fidel Castro and more recently by his
brother Raul, has been "impotent" and unable to alleviate the misery on
the island, he said, adding that they've been abetted by a U.S. policy
that is ineffective and no longer makes sense.
"They've used us as an excuse for the entire time they've had this
revolution," he said. "But the revolution is a failure. Cuba only
represents a threat to itself."
The U.S. lawmakers who staunchly cling to the embargo "are irrational
when it comes to Cuba," Gross said. "Some of them can say I'm suffering
from Stockholm syndrome, but I dare them to say it to my face. As
someone who's worked in international economic development for the last
35 years, I think that improving relations with Cuba is in our best
interests."
Gross said he had a lot of time to contemplate these matters after his
arrest in December 2009, as he was "rotting" in prison and waiting for
his lawyer and the U.S. to work out his release.
Lawmakers who oppose easing relations with Cuba say doing so will hurt
the island's residents.
"This misguided action by President Obama will embolden the Castro
regime to continue its illicit activities, trample on fundamental
freedoms, and disregard democratic principles," said Representative
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican, at the time Gross was released.
Gross got to know about 20 fellow inmates while he was behind bars,
mostly political prisoners, who cycled in and out as his cellmates. Some
became close friends. Few spoke English; he picked up enough Spanish to
get by and enjoyed their kindness when they shared treats their family
members brought on visits, often made possible by remittances from
relatives in the U.S. under rules relaxed by Obama.
After what Gross described as an initial year of significant
mistreatment, he said his circumstances improved. He had access to
interpreters during official interrogations, to his lawyer, and to
visitors, including members of the U.S. Congress. Among the visitors
during his final months in prison was a high ranking Cuban official, who
peppered him with propaganda. Gross said he convinced the official to
provide data, and he received bound copies of economic and demographic
data collected by the government.
Cuban Economy
From that Gross said he gleaned that at least 11 percent of Cubans,
roughly 500,000 people, work in the private sector, which has been
bolstered by remittances from the U.S. He also said the Cuban government
is doing "subtle things" to loosen reins on the economy in the face of
resistance from various factions including the military. There's been
some easing of restrictions on visas and more allowances for private
sales of homes and cars. Although he was imprisoned for bringing
computer chips and other equipment into Cuba, some broader access to the
Internet is being allowed. But service still remains poor and too
expensive for most Cubans, and the government continues to monitor
e-mail and repress political critics.
Gross said Cuba needs to show the U.S. more significant concessions,
especially on human rights, if it wants the relationship to progress.
"The United States has expressed and demonstrated its commitment in
many, many ways," Gross said. "The government of Cuba has not yet
demonstrated its commitment."
Change will come, Gross said. Fidel Castro, who seized power in the
1950s, is now 89, and Raul Castro, who took over for his brother a
decade ago, is 84.
"The Castros are totally irrelevant to Cuba's future," Gross said. "From
a practical standpoint, they'll be gone within a matter of a few years.
Their legacy will be very difficult for Cuba to escape from. But Cuba
will escape from that and we need to get out of the way."
While in prison, Gross said he also rooted for Cuba's Industriales
baseball team and hoarded blue plastic bands from the seals on water
bottles, turning them into bracelets made from 18 bands at a time --
significant, he said, because it is "the Hebrew numeric value of the
world 'chaiim,' which means life."
Sanders Visit
He'd give the crafts to visitors, asking them to remember him. They
included Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, now running for the Democratic
presidential nomination, who was among several lawmakers who met with
him in the prison.
Gross also brought some of the bracelets out with him. He presented one
to the pope as thanks for advocating on his behalf. Another was given to
astronaut Scott Kelly, who befriended him when both were guests in first
lady Michelle Obama's State of the Union box last year. Gross said Kelly
sought his experience being isolated from loved ones as the astronaut
was preparing to spend a year aboard the International Space Station.
Obama doesn't have a bracelet. Gross said he was "never upset" with
Obama for his imprisonment and understood that the U.S. had bigger
foreign policy imperatives. Gross's wife, Judy, is less content.
"Alan is a lot more generous about President Obama than I am," Judy
Gross said. She said she spent years feeling furious and isolated. With
her husband's release "now I feel obviously less angry."
Gross keeps a humidor stocked with Cuban cigars to enjoy while walking
through his northwest Washington neighborhood.
"The main thing I want people to know is that I have absolutely no
bitterness toward the people of Cuba," he said. "They're among the most
generous, creative and warm and friendly people I've ever met. There are
problems facing them for which they are not responsible.
"I'm much more interested in the next five years than the last five years."

Source: Why Five Years in Cuban Prison Sold Alan Gross on Obama's Visit
- Bloomberg Politics -
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-03-11/why-five-years-in-cuban-prison-sold-alan-gross-on-obama-s-visit