The pleas of the U.S. government and Alan Gross’ family fell on deaf ears in Cuba. After a two-day trial, a Cuban court found the 61-year old contractor guilty of crimes against the island nation and sentenced him to 15-years in prison.
Gross was charged with operating as a ‘subversive’, working on behalf of the U.S. government with intention of undermining the authority of the Cuban communist regime. The Cuban government claims he was handing out illegal satellite equipment so that the U.S. could spy on the country.
Whereas Gross’ family and the U.S. government say he was on the island attempting to improve the quality of life for the Cuban Jewish community by improving their internet access. In actuality he was a U.S. government subcontractor employee doing democracy building efforts on the island, which the U.S. government routinely does without the permission of Cuba.
He had been jailed for 15 months before coming to trial on charges.
