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Subscribe to RSSIn what could be the setting for a gripping thriller, Cuba and the U.S. are reportedly locked in a standoff this weekend, with the fate of an American contractor hanging in the balance. NBC's Michael Isikoff reports.
HAVANA, Cuba — It seems straight out of a Cold War spy movie. A group of Cuban undercover agents sneak into the U.S. and set up a secret pro-Castro network in south Florida — receiving instructions in code through late night radio transmissions from handlers in Havana. But the FBI gets wind, tails the agents, intercepts their messages and busts them, sending the agents off to federal prison, their ringleader for life.
Today, the story of those spies — called La Red Avispa, or the Wasp Network — rolled up by the feds 14 years ago is barely known in the United States. But its members, now known as the Cuban Five, are national heroes in Cuba — the subjects of mass demonstrations, their pictures on billboards and posters – and their petitions for freedom are championed around the world by Nobel Prize winners, celebrities like Danny Glover, even former President Jimmy Carter.
And they may now prove key to the tense impasse between Havana and Washington over the fate of jailed American contractor Alan Gross, arrested three years ago Monday for distributing sophisticated satellite equipment to Cuba’s tiny Jewish community and later sentenced to 15 years in prison for "acts against the independence and/or territorial integrity of the state." (Gross says he was only bringing Internet access to Cuba.)
While the U.S. is demanding that Cuba release Gross, who visitors say is angry and frail, having lost 110 pounds in prison, Cuban officials say they are willing to do so only if President Barack Obama will release the Cuban agents.
"I understand what Mr. Gross is going through," Gerardo Hernandez, 47, the Cuban Five ringleader, said in an exclusive interview with NBC News in October at his current home --a federal prison outside Victorville, Calif. "I understand his sufferings and that of his family. … If an agreement can be reached, to stop the sufferings of six families, then I welcome it."
The idea of a swap — the release of Gross for Hernandez and his confederates among the Cuban Five — faces legal and political hurdles.
NBC News
A billboard in Cuba shows the Cuban Five -- Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González.
An Obama administration official told NBC News that the "imprisonment of Alan Gross, an international development worker, is not comparable in any way to that of the five Cuban agents," noting that the Cubans were afforded their "due process rights" and convicted of serious crimes.
Cuban Five ringleader Gerardo Hernandez
Members of Congress have denounced Cuba for holding Gross "hostage" to the release of the Cuban Five. "The Castro regime has no regard for human rights or international law," said Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and frequent critic of the Castro regime. "The Cuba Five should serve their sentences for spying."
And Hernandez, who sports a trim goatee and displays a hearty laugh despite 14 years in prison, might not make the ideal candidate for a pardon or commutation from Obama — a precondition for a swap to take place. Asked if he regretted any of his actions, he smiled and said, "I regret that I got caught." In a follow up phone interview, Hernandez readily acknowledged that "we violated some U.S. laws" — mainly failing to register as foreign agents with the U.S. Justice Department. "We came here with fake passports. Fake identities." But, he added, "We act out of necessity."
As Hernandez and Cuban officials tell it, the Cuban Five was not sent to spy on the U.S. government. In fact, the members weren’t accused of stealing any U.S. secrets (although they were convicted of conducting surveillance of U.S. military bases.) Instead, the mission of the Wasp Network, they say, was to infiltrate anti-Castro exile groups in South Florida who Havana suspected of plotting terrorist attacks inside Cuba. Among those attacks: the notorious bombing of Cubana Flight 455 over the Caribbean in 1976, killing 73 passengers (including teenage members of a Cuban national fencing team) as well as a string of hotel bombings in Havana in 1997 that killed an Italian businessman and were believed to have been aimed at disrupting Cuba’s nascent tourist industry.
"Cuba doesn’t have drones to neutralize the terrorists abroad," said Hernandez. "They need to send people to gather information and protect the Cuban people from these terrorist actions. … I think it’s the same feeling that Americans have that defend their country and love their country when they go to infiltrate al-Qaida and send information here to avoid the terrorist acts. And the U.S. has to understand that Cuba has been involved in the war against terrorism for 50 years.”
Alan Gross in an undated family photo, left, and in 2012, after losing 110 pounds while imprisoned in Cuba.
While admitting his role in spying on anti-Castro exiles — "I would do it again," he said — Hernandez adamantly denies the most serious charge against him: conspiracy to commit murder. His conviction on that count, which has earned him a life sentence, was based on his alleged complicity in the February 1996 shoot-down by a Cuban fighter jet of two Cessna planes flown by members of the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue, killing four men.
The anti-Castro group had provoked Cuba by dropping anti-government leaflets over Havana. At the trial of the Cuban Five, prosecutors introduced messages between Hernandez and his controllers in Havana suggesting he had prior knowledge of the shoot-down. But Hernandez insists that prosecutors misinterpreted the messages and he knew nothing that wasn’t already public.
"No, sir, absolutely not," Hernandez replied when asked if he knew in advance about the incident. "All I knew was what everybody knew: that Brothers to the Rescue through the years has violated many times Cuban air space, that there have been 16 diplomatic notes from Cuba complaining over that situation."
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Ricardo Alarcon, president of the Cuban National Assembly
Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba’s National Assembly (the Parliament) and a longtime Castro confidante, said this week in Havana that "the Cuban government publicly, front page in our papers, months before that incident had warned that we are not going to allow any more intrusions into our air space. … The order, the decision (to shoot down the planes) came from the highest level. Fidel Castro himself had said that publicly, that he was responsible for that decision."
U.S. Appeals Court Judge Phyllis Kravitch of Atlanta concluded in 2008 that prosecutors never proved their case tying Hernandez to a plot to shoot down the planes, but she was outvoted two to one and his conviction on the murder conspiracy charge was upheld. Now Hernandez and his lawyers are appealing on another ground: that hundreds of thousands of dollars in secret U.S. government payments to anti-Castro journalists in Miami — newly discovered through Freedom of Information Act requests — inflamed the Miami community against the Cuban Five and made it impossible for them for them to get a fair trial. The payments were mostly made for appearances on Radio Marti, a TV and radio operation funded by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent agency that oversees international broadcasting sponsored by the U.S. government.
Slideshow: Castro through the years
In court papers, lawyers for the Cuban Five have cited articles by some of the journalists, including one that denounced the "genocidal character" of Castro’s regime and another that speculated that the real purpose of the Wasp Network was to introduce "chemical or bacteriological weapons" into south Florida. “"his information was spread throughout the Miami area and helped inflame the community against these guys," said Martin Garbus, Hernandez’ lawyer. "It was total madness. … When the case was brought, the anti-Castro feeling in the Miami area was at a fevered pitch."
Keystone / Getty Images
Ever since U.S.-backed Cuban President Fulgencio Batista was forced from power by rebels led by Fidel Castro in 1958, the relationship between the two nations has been fraught with difficulties.
U.S. prosecutors dismiss as “implausible” and "unfounded" the idea that the Radio Marti payments were part of a U.S. government effort to influence the jury in the Cuban Five case.
"The jury (in the case) was carefully selected, following a searching voir dire (jury selection process) that the appellate court deemed a high model for a high-profile case, and that the trial comported with the highest standards for fairness and professionalism,” wrote Caroline Heck Miller, an assistant U.S. attorney in Miami, in a court filing in July asking a judge to reject Hernandez’ motion for a hearing into the payments to the journalists. She also noted, as federal prosecutors have repeatedly done when the issue has come up, that “no Cuban-Americans – the audience (Hernandez) hypothesizes as the target of the government campaign he imagines — served on the jury."
Unless Hernandez can somehow persuade a court to reopen his case – or barring a prisoner swap with Gross — he would seem to have few options.
American imprisoned in Cuba may have cancer, doctor says
Rene Gonzalez, another member of the Cuban Five who was not convicted of the conspiracy-to-commit-murder charge, was released from federal prison on probation late last year, but has not yet been allowed to return home to Cuba to live.
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Adriana Perez, wife of imprisoned Cuban agent, Gerardo Hernandez
The Cubans are doing their best to ratchet up the pressure. Just as Judy Gross has launched a public relations campaign in the United States to free her husband, appearing at a National Press Club press conference on Friday, this week the Cubans made Hernandez wife, Adriana, available for an interview with NBC News. A chemist in the food industry in Havana, she wept as she described the pain of separation from her husband — and how it has left her unable to bear children. "Every detail, every single moment reminds me of him," she said. "I believe there are many people in the U.S. and the American people as a whole, who could convey to President Obama that there is a woman here suffering."
Hernandez, too, says missing his wife is the hardest part of his life in prison. And he has few illusions about his prospects of being freed. "The only thing I know for sure with me is that I have two life sentences and live with that every day," he said. "And to keep your sanity and your mind, you have to be realistic. But I would be dishonest to say that I don’t have hope."
Michael Isikoff is NBC News' national investigative correspondent; NBC News Producer Mary Murray also contributed to this report.
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I lived in South Florida for 25 years and am familiar with the terrorist activities of the "bad" Cubans. I believe the rationals offered by the imprisoned investigators from Cuba. It's high time US citizens stop letting the bad Cubans bully our country. Let's release these men. Let's end the rediculous trade and visitation embargo (which, incidentally, doesn't apply to the bad Cubans themselves.)
We can't release them even if we wanted to. It would encourage Cuba and other unfriendly countries to kidnap our citizens as hostages. The Palestinians do it to Israel all the time. Do we want that? In the long run, it would make things worse and imperil more of our people abroad.
I do not think that the US should release these spies. They got caught and deserve to serve out their sentences. As for Gross, he knew full well that he was violating Cuban law in what he was doing. While I hate to see any American held in prison over violating laws that are somewhat absurd and repressive, Gross new what he was doing and he took his chances. The US government may see Gross as a hostage, but the fact is that in distributing the satellite equipment he was in violation of Cuban law. Americans who travel to a foreign country need to understand that they are subject to the laws of that country. If you violate them you should expect to be arrested and possibly imprisoned. While we may not agree with the laws in other countries, that does not give any American the right to go to another country and ignore their laws. Gross is paying the price for his own arrogance in trying to circumvent Cuban law. I find it very hard to justify our government releasing these Cuban spies in order to get Gross released. These spies knowingly violated US law the same way Gross knowingly violated Cuban law. Let them all serve their sentences for their actions.
At least the U.S. would MIGHT get someone in return, not like the "terrorists" released from Gitmo for repatriation back into the Middle East Hezbollah, al Qaeda, et al, network(s). when NOTHING WAS GAINED.
Maybe this "SWAP" could be a test for Ambassador Rice as the Secretary of State (give her NO talking points please). So, send her and get her away from the U.N. when they start voting on all the WORLD TREATIES they have stacked up and waiting for voting.
Cuba can keep this guy and we'll keep the "5". We have, in this country, way too many who are sure that when they do something dumb, America will bail their "tail" out, in the process making the dummy a boatload of cash for writing their "story". NO MORE!
I completely agree. It is interesting how our media refers to the Cubans as "spies" while it calls Alan Gross, who was working for the CIA, a "contractor." The Cubans in Miami were there to gather information about the Exiles in Miami who were using South Florida as a base to conduct terrorist activities in Cuba. Isn't that what we do all over the world, spy on people who are capable of and who intend to use terrorism in our country? Interesting that most of our personnel at the consulate in Benghazi did not work for the State Dept. but the CIA and CIA contractors. The CIA was clearly running a drone operation out of the consulate. The hypocrisy of thi the USA makes the USA look really foolish in the World's eyes.
I feel bad for this guys family, but are we supposed to believe that a man smart enough to set up mini dishes to get Internet access, isn't smart enough to know that this is a crime in Cuba. Maybe he is a spy or an a$$ ? How many of you out there in Internet land think that setting up Internet access for people in Cuba wouldn't get you thrown in jail ? It's common sense ! If I get hot on a summer day I take my shirt off, but if I were in Saude Arabia I wouldn't because those people are weird about that sort of thing and will throw you in jail.
Cuba is no threat to the US and should be opened up for free trade. This is not the 1960's and to have the same rules today is a joke. Trade the spies for Alan and move on with life. I am ready for a Cuban Cigar and some beach casino time down there.................
They are spies and criminals... screw them.
Gee Shosyn, do you pee in your cornflakes every morning? Do the deal and get over it.
Gee do you post on newsvine to make a point or just pee in cornflakes in the morning???
It is my opinion... get over it.
Scum is scum...
LOL Shosy
As a fellow Jew, I wish he would have adhered to the maxim of "Don't go looking for trouble". He knew what the laws of Cuber were and he broke them and got caught. He's a fool and all thise demanding his release are likewise foolish. He should pay for his arrogance and his wife and friends should understand this and just get on with their lives.
lets face it.it aint about 'commies',and seeing how we catch and release our 'allies' ocasional spies just tells me its only about 'face'.i think they just want to really see a dead fidel,once and for all,then maybe we will budge,who knows.i agree that the only differance between a spy or contracter sometimes is a labeling of words.just didnt know marti was still going.talk about reruns.
Boy Jimmy, TRAITOR, you really ARE the WORST PRESIDENT EVER!
FedupwithFed.....
Bet those Carter peanuts go well with that Obama Beer (made in the White House and probably served on those Wednesday get-togethers).
I thought Americans weren't allowed to go to Cuba to conduct any kind of business, has that changed? I do not know why this man felt he needed to go to Cuba, but it was his choice. If this had been someone going to a country that was on good terms with us, it would be different. I could see the state department doing all they could for him, but to travel to a country where you KNOW there are problems with Americans, is just foolishness. I also do not see why releasing people convicted of espionage would even be open for discussion.
"the mission of the Wasp Network, they say, was to infiltrate anti-Castro exile groups in South Florida who Havana suspected of plotting terrorist attacks inside Cuba. Among those attacks: the notorious bombing of Cubana Flight 455 over the Caribbean in 1976, killing 73 passengers (including teenage members of a Cuban national fencing team) as well as a string of hotel bombings in Havana in 1997 that killed an Italian businessman and were believed to have been aimed at disrupting Cuba’s nascent tourist industry."
That explains it all, the 5 Cubans were no spies, just anti-terrorism fighters. The coward Cuban-Americans killing innocents instead killing Castro and his henchmen.
Hey Ido!
Time for another BEER summit on the white house lawn?
5 exchanged for 1? Are they CRAZY?? Maybe they can throw in some Cigars for Billy boy too!!
Next thing you know, we will be trading GITMO detainees!
The "American backed" presidente, who had agreed to casinos, giving america control of the sugar crop etc. was overthrown by the Cuban "people". Oh, that wont do. Cuba was instantly the "bad guy'. Well so was china and Russia. But now they number one good buddy. Notice that republican Richard Nixon was buddy buddy with Batista. He's also the guy who went to see Mao. hey! I thought you republicans say "we shouldn't talk to our enemies"????? If that don't say it all.
if anybody here was caught spying on the us and selling secrets, guess what's going to happen ? you only get one guess and the answer has nothing to do with being freed because of some old sick guy.
if its really that important "we" can figure out a way to get the old fella out.
this coming from a descendent of a US Naval officer who was captured by cubans nearly a century ago while transporting a communique and and figured out on his own how to get back to his ship.
American has bullied Cuba more than long enough. It's also cost the US more than the Cubans. The President should free these 5 Men and bring the Contractor Home. We should also get over our official Feigned paranoia about Cuba. All that does is inflame our very inordinate population of crazies. The south Florida Cubans should be about the business of being American Citizens, or go on back to their homeland, instead of continually playing one against the other. Very gwaddamn unseemly.
I'd say it's a pretty good bargain. One of our citizens for 5 of theirs? Hell call it a deal, send them packing!
Do not let these two issues be tied together; we would just be asking extremists to kidnap americans.
In regards to the Cubans: they served 14 years, they didn't kill anyone ... isn't 14 years enough? I would rather be talking to Cuba about selling American made cars and other goods in Cuba. We need markets to create jobs in the US.
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. The spies from cuba should have been shot after they were tried, or hanged.
Cuba is a joke. America already has Guantanamo Bay which houses an unknown amount of military personel, also a navy base.
bbmjr (post 1.5) --
"The hypocrisy of thi the USA makes the USA look really foolish in the World's eyes."
Why are so many in the U.S. in total denial of the fact that our government uses the same tactics others do to spy on them and gather any information that might be at all useful to us? And at the same time, these same people think we should have total transparency of what our government, including Armed Forces, diplomats, etc. do and say. We would really look like fools if we advertised everything we were trying to do to the whole world.
Maybe you should read some military/international relations books or even some good spy novels to get an idea of how things work in our admittedly imperfect, screwed-up world.
as far as the government on any level giving a "beyond fair trial" is about the biggest joke i have ever heard in my lifetime, so old it has a 8ft beard. grant it there are those who deserve to be put away, but as well a whole heck of a lot that are punished for nothing other than being an ez take down for points for a notch in their belt... ooooh tuff guys!
personally this could have been delt with more than 14 yrs before this took place if the US and Cuba would have been willing to work together to combat terroists, plain and simple. However, the US would rather see Cuba bombed to shreds for a gloating victory. so much for that olive branch of peace, lol...
seriously, you cant make this crap up folks, but when it comes push to shove on actual peace treaties, our nation isnt all that great unless we get some sort of payout. rest is all rhetoric malarchy making us look like the saving angel of the world, too bad our nation has horns holding up the fake halo huh?
hard to believe all the way from Wi, i can remember all of this when it hit the news 14+ yrs ago. if all they really have for a solid case is false id's, and failure to claim, 14 yrs is enough. you are looking at a country in the middle of the ocean with nukes that by now are so dilapitated anyone would be afraid to fire off, because it would mostlikly never leave the ground, and wipe cuba off the map. one of our closest neighbors, and we cant strike a peace deal, beacuse they are a communist nation? (puke!)
then listen to some of the people posting on here is even better of a joke... 46 yrs old, i saw the middle to the end of the cold war, (fyi cold war is another name for not getting an ass-kissing), then changed to some other simple for form of language more appealing to the public, like "military force" has been changed to "humanitarian aid". (such the brainwashed sheeple we have become right?) if i as a nations leader was feeling threatend by terrorist atacks and propaganda and was getting no help from the country it was coming from, i would have sent in some guys to get an inside scoop, JUST LIKE WE DO, that are nationally considerd as a spy. only a puppet will talk the talk, and not the walk. there is NO REASON other than stuffed shirt feelings that a peace treaty has been able to be hacked out. if we can claim to make peace with nut-job terrorists in Egypt,Tunisia,Iraq,Syria.... why heck why havent we mopped the floor with Cuba decades ago? (because it doesnt exsist) The only reason PRIOR and the basis of the cold war was Russia (then referred to as the USSR), made a better deal with Castro than we did when he took sides. dont think it took more than the USSR telling Castro Jehovah witnesses will flock to Cuba to change the way it sees things to be a decision making factor on whos side to take.
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ASTOUNDING: That really was astounding!!!
Besides the fact that Gitmo IS a Naval base and ONLY a Naval base obtained by treaty; with about 10,000 personnel.
RETIRED CG: Sorry, looked for a couple minutes and can't figure it out.
And how is the ankle wader Navy this A.M.???? :)
But, the Cuban government has made a tactical mistake ... it went public. If the US acts now, it will appear as if we're giving into hostage taking and blackmail. And, we can't do that. It isn't a matter of saving face. It is a matter of protecting other Americans abroad who might become targets of kidnapping and false arrest if it appears that such tactics can be leveraged against the US.
It's high time for the BS to stop. Cuba poses no threat to the U.S. and Cuba should welcome free trade with the U.S. The 60's ended and with that should come open talks between the U.S. and Cuba. I'm sure that the average Cuban is not anti America and I am just has sure that the average American doesn't hate Cuba. lets put our "cold war" differences aside and reunite these families with their loved ones. Presidents Castro and Obama, get your crap together and work it out. Cubans are not the enemy and should not be treated has such. We are not the enemy of Cuba and should not be treated has such! Maybe if both sides extended an olive branch, we could come together with some agreement that would be beneficial to both nations. Just maybe showing the average Cuban the freedoms we enjoy would help them to move politicaly in the democratic direction. When actions become more than words, battles are won.
BARRY: Darn good point.
Barry-NJ Gross wasn't kidnapped, he was in Cuba on behalf of the USAID, a long time cover up for the CIA, doing illegal activities based on Cuban laws (like it or not those are their laws), therefore as far as Cuba is concerned he is a spy; he went to trial and was convicted in a Cuban court of law, the same way the 5 Cuban spies were convicted in Miami.
A spy exchange is customary in these cases as we did not long ago with the Russian spies (Anna Chapman and others).
I could see swapping out our guy for the underlings, but I would also like to see President Obama and Raul Castro try to move more toward an eventual re-normalacy of relations between our countries too, in an attempt to reduce and then eliminate 50 years of suspicion and distrust. I could see holding on to the leader to ensure continued honest progress toward the goal that I believe is just too. Maybe we could give him back later as a good will gesture after some achievement toward normal relations is made.
We Americans have to be stronger than to permanently hate and distrust a small island nation 90 miles off of our shore. Yes, what they did in the 1960s was wrong from our perspective, but we did plenty of our own wrong too through our CIA and our attempt to economically dominate our planet.
So why not encourage a swap and make a serious attempt at the achievement of better relations too? Do we need enemies to justify our defense spending levels?
The Sword must be broken sometime, those who make the 'never back down to terrorist threats' argument; which is quite valid, before the "end" of the "conflict" - in this case, the now twenty-year dead Cold War Conflict - And, with FARC at the Peace Table, and the Khmer Rouge and Myanmarese looking to Cash In on being Grown Up Peoples and/or Countries, now that they've "unclenched their fists" (To quote the POTUS); thus, as it is not an Un-valid Point - as the safety of a Legitimate Governments Leadership is, in their own eyes, a Right Thing to do - I think we should do this thing.
Besides....Why Jail a Nice Jewish Leftist? He probably was a Sympathizer, before you locked him up!
Piece of cake. Just give the spy's shock treatment 'till their memory is gone in their "C" drive brain and do the swap!
No information leaked.
On another note, I'll bet my paycheck that the Cuban spies we're holding over here are healthy and eat well whereas, poor Gross lost over 100lbs and is starving to death.
I hate Cuban cigars anyway. Pffft!
Creek Dog Gross was obese, he is now healthy after going through the "Cuban diet". You obviously never have smoked a real Cuban cigar or someone performed shock treatment in your brain.
Seriously though, whats a spy gonna learn that any of us can't learn.... And if they do get some intel maybe the world will get a little bit smarter....
Brothers to the Rescue was/is an anti Cuban terrorist group. They act illegally under the guise of trying to free Cuba. They create conflicts that our govt has to deal with. I'm not sure that they act in a legal manner and am personally sick of the way some Cubans try to order our govt around.
Why don't they macarana back to Cuba and liberate their people?
Lets send Hillary with a bag of cash and an apology. Then lets build them a tourist area and start sending more money to support the regime while they keep oppressing and bumping their opponents off. Hey, who cares about people.
in other words treat them like Israel?... no thanks, really tired of my tax dollars being wasted like that
so, allow them to behave exactly like we do around the rest of the world? Sure, seems only fair. I haven't heard of them killing innocent kids deemed "enemy combatants" in order to avoid internation court prosecution simply because the innocent kids were old enough for us to pretend they "might" be dangerous.
Just another example of the way we cut our own throat with our standing in the world. You don't make enemies by being friendly. You make them by being a bullying @!$%#. The National Interests Cuba attempts to protect actually converges with American National interests in many regards. If you support keeping ppl like this locked up, you support terrorism, the killing of innocent people, and continued destruction of your own self interest. The fact that the people these "spies" attempt to protect happen to be Cubans makes little difference. Terrorism is terrorism, and America begets its own problems. Yet you don't seem to understand why people want to do it back to you.
sounds like you are sided with those who will use children to attack our soldiers the claim "america"is killing children! same the viet kong used this same tactic with help from soviet spies in nam.. our college students came to hate our soldiers who by law had to follow orders, the viet cong on the other hand used terrorist tactics to make "enemies" of farmers by threatening their families and not giving choices,, what choice does the Afghans have if they dont help the al qeda and taliban? so yea keep crapping on the country that leaves your right to say this stupid crap while feeding your fathead
sorry was being sarcastic there. I don't think folks have been trying to float 90 miles across open water on a raft for the past 50 years because things are too wonderful in Cuba.
I have heard that the fishing is nothing short of fantastic in Cuba. My Dad was in the Army Air Corp and used to take flights down to the Caribbean right after WWII ended. He said Cuba was a very nice place except for the mosquitos. I would like to get a chance to visit there before I get too and feeble to do it.
A tourist area might be a great thing. It could be a place where both sides might actually get an understanding of the other......and enjoy some great fishing to boot!!
How about we promise to deliver an H-Bomb if they DON'T free our guy! and then deliver like the Pizza Hut Man!
johnnyt, I've heard from a number of sources that the fishing is nothing like it used to be. Apparently, more people over time have fished out the reef and inshore schools causing the deeper water types to go elsewhere. Reefs still have a lot of nice coral, but near zero on fish. Central planning in agriculture didn't work any better in Cuba than it did in the old Soviet Union, hence the overfishing.
canemah......I just took a look at my previous posting and I must say you've bummed me out with the news about the fishing. I wish I had enough money to go on a fishing safari....I'd travel the entire world and maybe even try to write a book about it....it's one of the few things that I can say I truly love to do. Doesn't matter to me if it's brook trout in a remote mountain stream or big game out in The Canyon or Caribbean.....and anything in between.
Have you pitched your idea to a publisher? They might bankroll you for rights to your book.
I've never met a fisherman who couldn't talk politics in a sane and rational fashion. And I never met a liberal or conservative fish that wouldn't bite.
No thanks...you can keep the contractor!
Posted to the wrong place....sorry.
There is also option B.....we make friends with Castro and watch the fanatical Cubans in S. FL freak out and foam at the mouth.
or option C - We attack Cuba, liberate the people there and send all the Cubans that commit fraud back to Cuba. We could even get rid of the Cuban Domino sugar barons the Fanjuli brothers from S FL, and their price fixing of sugar (which costs Americans millions of dollars)
lol, yeah, lets liberate the cubans so republicans can tell them what they can, or cannot do. lol The people in Cuba would be wishing Fidel was back, lol We could then build sweat shops there instead of India and Vietnam. then they can have their people burned alive like just happened in India. To the people of Cuba, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
I don't think the Cubans would regard an American invasion as "liberation". But I do agree with sending the emigre scum back for their just deserts. I'm sick of these gangsters pulling this country about by the nose.
@ jeffrey erwin
Your typical Castroite response is to condemn all Cuban exiles as "bad" and legitimize a repressive regime that has held the people of Cuba in its iron grip for more than a half century.
BTW. The Castro spies, for that is what they are, were also caught infiltrating Boca Chica Naval Air Base and spying at MacDill Air Force Base as proven at their trial. That is not simply keeping an eye on the activities of anti-Castro activists as claimed but espionage at major U.S. military installations.
The spin put on the activities of these foreign espionage agents by the supporters of the Castro regime and parroted by the liberal media only put more Americans in harms way as the naive become easy pawns in the political game.
I think a few people at border patrol need to be fired. I say release ONE of them, not all five.
I have no doubt that Mr. Gross was a CIA agent, and if that's correct, I'd say make the swap. One thing is for sure - I wouldn't believe anything the United States government said.
I dont buy it. If he was a CIA agent,I would agree with you,but as far as I know,he was just acting on his own. If he WAS a CIA agent,then the pros and cons Im sure are being weighed by the Obama administration. If in fact he was working for us,Im sure he understands the situation and Im sure it will be dealt with. If he was acting on his own,then hes pretty much ON HIS OWN. I would not expect our government to release convicted spies to free some idiot that wanted to go overseas of his own volition and play James Bond.
Every CIA operation has a brass plate company. Just like "Brewster-Jennings" was a cover for the cia in the mid east. This guy is lucky, they just put him in jail, the agents of Brewster-Jennings are all dead. Thanks Cheny, Thanks bush, thanks Libby.
He's a bit too old and a bit too stupid to be a CIA agent. People think there is a CIA agent behind every blade of grass. It's ridiculous. Object lesson 1 - Americans who do stupid things abroad should not expect the US government to bail them out. Object lesson 2 – If you are a spy and get caught, you are up sh*t creek.
L'USAID recognizes the secret character of its illegal operations in Cuba
(USAID) denounced for being a facade for an operation of information for the United States, has just refused access to documents about its operations in Cuba, which it says are secret.
USAID refused to give details of activities of Freedom House in Cuba from Jan. 2000 to Dec. 2007, as asked by the journalist Tracey Eaton who writes for the site "Along the Malecon." rédacteur en chef du site « Along the Malecon ». The documents were asked by virtue of the Freedom of Information Act.
ENVOI DE MATÉRIEL DE TRANSMISSION ÉLECTRONIQUE DANS L'ÎLE
USAID signed in 1999 a contract with Freedom House, that mentions programs of the organization in Cuba. The document mentions overseas partners, but they are not identified.
The agency, recognized for trying to destabilizing behind a screen of development, recognized in 2008 the secret and illegal of its spying activities in Cuba.
On May 14 of that year, Jose "Pepe" Cardenas, Cuban-American leader also at the head of USAID por Latin America presented in a reunion in Washington, the way to distribute 45 millions dollars marked for subvsersion in Cuba.
He said that he favorised secretly sending electronic material in the island through European and Latin-American agents for operations that cannot be engaged in legally.
ACTIVITÉS AU-DESSUS DE LA LOI
In addition, Casrdenas declared that the agency promised the absolute secret to its employees: their activities would never been divulged, not even under the Freedom of Information Act.
These guarantees were made by Cardenas in the name of the agency. This led, among other things to a large contract for the firm "Development Alternatives Inc" (DAI), for which Alan Gross worked.
Dans les textes déjà publiés l’USAID fait référence au développement à Cuba d'une « capacité de déploiement afin d'inclure la possibilité d'établir un espace de bureaux, des télécommunications, des dispositifs de transport, l'identification et le recrutement du personnel local, des achats locaux et « d'autres actions. »
Parallèlement à ces sales activités de l'USAID, un autre organisme fédéral, le Bureau des gouverneurs de la radiodiffusion - Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG pour son sigle en anglais), a récemment embauché la firme israélienne RRSat Global Communications avec pour mission de transmettre par satellite des programmes de propagande étatsuniens directement dans les téléviseurs cubains ; ainsi qu'un contrat pour transmettre à des milliers de téléphones portables cubains sélectionnés à partir d'une source indéterminée par le même BBG comportant des messages de propagande attribuée à Washington Software, une entreprise « de propriété asiatique ».
Les États-Unis investissent des milliards de dollars chaque année dans les opérations soi-disant « humanitaires »" en Amérique latine et dans les Caraïbes par l’intermédiaire de la dénommée Agence pour le développement
USAID RECOGNIZES THE ILLEGALITY OF ITS WORK IN CUBA
USAID has been denounced for being a façade for the information apparatus of the United States and refused to give details to Tracey Eaton, a researcher, asking for information for the years 2000 to 2007 through the Freedom of Information Act. Tracey Eaton explains this on his Internet site.
SENDING MATERIAL FOR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION IN THE ISLAND
In 1999, USAID signed a contract with Freedom House, mentioning work programs in Cuba. This programs mentions operatives in Cuba, but doesn't identify them. The agency, known for working on destabilizing countries, while pretending to be working on development, implicitly recognized in 2008 its illegal and secret spying activities in Cuba.
On May 14 of that year, Jose Cardenas, Cuban-American leader and head of USAID for Latin America, presented in a meeting in Washington the way to distribute 45million dollars given to subvert Cuba through such programs.
He said he supported secretly sending electronic material to the island through European and Latin-American operatives to support operations that cannot be developed legally. Cardenas declared the agency promised absolute secret to its employees, their activities would never been reveled even under the Freedom Of Information Act.
These guarantees were made by Cardenas in the name of the agency USAID, which led to a large contract to the firm Development Alternatives Inc, for which Alan Gross worked as a subcontractor.
Talk about a post with a blatent agenda.
Forgot to mention the mentoring of the CIA.
Since September of 1998 five Cuban nationals have been incarcerated in U.S. federal prisons. This is the background of why Cuba sent them here in the first place and what has transpired in the internationally known case of the Cuban Five.
For half a century Cuba has been a victim of U.S. aggressions and terrorist actions. During all that time, five thousand five hundred and seventy seven Cubans have either lost their lives or have been left maimed. U.S. official declassified documents show that between October 1960 and April 1961 the CIA smuggled 75 tons of explosives into Cuba during 30 clandestine air operations, and infiltrated 45 tons of weapons and explosives during 31 sea incursions. Also during that short seven-month time span, the CIA carried out 110 attacks with dynamite, planted 200 bombs, derailed six trains and burned 150 factories and 800 plantations.
Between 1959 and 1997 the United States carried out 5,780 terrorist actions against Cuba – 804 of them considered terrorist attacks of significant magnitude, including 78 bombings against the civilian population.
Between 1959 and 2003 there were 61 hijackings of planes or boats. Between 1961 and 1996 there were 58 attacks from the sea against 67 economic targets and the population.
In 1971, after a biological attack, half a million pigs had to be killed to prevent the spreading of swine fever. In 1981 the introduction of dengue fever caused 344,203 victims killing 158 of whom 101 were children. On July 6th, 1982, 11,400 cases were registered in one day alone.
The CIA has directed and supported over 4,000 individuals in 299 paramilitary groups. They are responsible for 549 murders and thousands of people wounded.
Most of these aggressions were planned in and executed from Florida by CIA-trained extreme right-wing groups of Cuban origin.
NO DEAL
That's easy enough for you to say....you're not sitting in a Cuban jail wasting away.
johnnyt Gross is actually in a military hospital room with AC.
Shoot them.Then they will shoot this guy,hopefully.NEXT!
Ya, its just too bad ppl like you with your attitude aren't part of the collateral damage in bomb blasts that happen around the world in the name of "terrorism". You need to sleep in the bed you make every day. You're just very lucky you still have enough insulation that you don't actually have to worry about your life being taken while attending a friend's wedding because you were accidentally in the wrong place at the wrong time when a terrorist plot comes to fruition.
To be clear, these ppl aren't terrorists. No one, includcing the American court system, purports that. There were spies spying on interests that didn't harm American in any way, shape or form.
Disparage religion on one hand and hit with the other.If you are so upset,offer up your opinion in person
Wow. Most of you don't really know what goes on in Cuba do you? And the Cuban Five are not even citizens, and they got a fair trial. They should not be released.
And yes, Greg_S we should still support Israel.
Why should we support Israel? Oh, because you believe in some Magical being with the power to create universes at his whim, but who is so petty he'll damn you to suffering for eternity if you take his name in vain. That makes a LOT of sense in today's information age. You and your lot should be lined up in shot, or imprisoned. Until that happens, our world will never see peace.
? not the right place for this reply...
Anyways, the US doesn't support Israel for religious reasons. Israel is actually an extremely important ally for political and military reasons. Think of it as a forward operating base for the US. It isn't the only one, but it is the best equipped. More importantly their military is designed for reduction of casualties, unlike the US military which is focused on annihilating opposing armies and increasingly guerrilla fighters, making it extremely suited to fighting Islamic militants on a day to day basis and sapping their limited resources.
^^ cowl if what you are saying is true....why is it like dealing with an out of control teenager who wants to be part of chaos? I mean if they are so smart, and so valuable, why is it that they cannot seem to do anything without a child-like fight with real weapons?? At least teen agers grow up...they will not ever...because they dont ever have too...wouldnt you just love to be a kid all your life too
Support Isreal cause they help make your senators and congress people very rich. And because if they don't do as isreal says, their careers get ruined. Did you notice that America was the only country in the whole world who voted no for a Palestinian state? hmm
Hey George, I'm pretty sure that Israel voted against it also.
Who said that someone would be sent somewhere for using a name in vain ??? Surely no one can say that little threat comes from the ONLY source that speaks the word of GOD. Cause I`ve never read that particular threat in the Bible before. Seems like there are a lot of so-called threats and other false accusations attributed to GOD by those that deny him and out right hate him. Hate him as much as you want to, that does`nt in any way change things. That threat is not from the Bible, but look at your own words that you DID write !!!!!
Easy fix - just do the swap. Keeping any of these people prisoner does nothing. Let's stop this silly cold-war mentality and the posturing it entails.
we do not negotiate. Period.
roadlesstraveled only with the little guys, we do negotiate with Russia and China.
We've traded numerous times in the past. It's time to do this with Cuba, and well past time to life the pointless embargo and normalize relations. The sooner we do that, the sooner they will become an open society. Not everyone has to accept our brand of democracy.
no. What you are suggesting will do the exact opposite. Nations that suppress keep suppressing with every inch they are given. This mans life, in prison, could actually save thousands from a future fate just because some hostile nation has a demand....you can give them everyone, and they will not be happy with that either...they will just say, next, and continue the human trap we love so much in this world.
You've obviously not paid the slightest attention to US history. As for this situation, there is no demand, but a dialogue. The five Cubans were legally arrested here. Gross was legally arrested there. Further, if you'd given current events even a passing glance, you'd know that Cuba is backing off it's suppression.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Cuba urged to revoke repressive laws and release prisoners of conscience
Amnesty International on Wednesday called on the Cuban authorities to revoke laws that restrict freedom of expression, assembly and association and to release all dissidents unfairly detained by the authorities.
The organization also urged President Raúl Castro to allow independent monitoring of the human rights situation in Cuba by inviting UN experts to visit the country and by facilitating monitoring by other human rights groups.
The call came ahead of the 7th anniversary of the arrest of 75 Cuban dissidents around 18 March 2003. Fifty-three of those arrested continue to be detained. One of those arrested in March 2003, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, died on 22 February 2010, having spent several weeks on hunger strike in protest at prison conditions.
"Cuban laws impose unacceptable limits on the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly," said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International. "Cuba desperately needs political and legal reform to bring the country in line with basic international human rights standards.
"The long imprisonment of individuals solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights is not only a tragedy in itself but also constitutes a stumbling block to other reforms, including the beginning of the dialogue needed for the lifting of the US unilateral embargo against Cuba."
Several articles of the Cuban Constitution and Criminal Code are so vague that they are currently being interpreted in a way that infringes fundamental freedoms.
Article 91 of Cuba's Criminal Code provides for sentences of ten to 20 years or death for anyone "who in the interest of a foreign state, commits an act with the objective of damaging the independence or territorial integrity of the Cuban state".
According to article 72 "any person shall be deemed dangerous if he or she has shown a proclivity to commit crimes demonstrated by conduct that is in manifest contradiction with the norms of socialist morality" and article 75.1 states that any police officer can issue a warning for such "dangerousness". The declaration of a dangerous pre-criminal state can be decided summarily. A warning may also be issued for associating with a "dangerous person".
Law 88 provides for seven to 15 years' imprisonment for passing information to the United States that could be used to bolster anti-Cuban measures, such as the US economic blockade. The legislation also bans the ownership, distribution or reproduction of "subversive materials" from the US government, and proposes terms of imprisonment of up to five years for collaborating with radio, TV stations or publications deemed to be assisting US policy.
Local non-governmental organizations have great difficulty in reporting on human rights violations due to restrictions on their rights to freedom of expression, association and movement. International independent human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, are not allowed to visit the island.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/cuba-urged-revoke-repressive-laws-and-release-prisoners-conscience-2010-03-17
Glad he got released. Hopefully he's watching Alabama vs Georgia football game.
THERE SHOULD BE NO SWAP
SEND GLOVER TO TAKE HIS SPOT
Glover may be in Cuba holding Chavez's hand. As for the five spy's....they should serve every second of their sentences. From the photo's, I'd wager the five are being taken care of much better than Gross.
Historically no other group betray the US more than the jews,.....jejejejeje
Really, you Nazi idiot! Exactly how have the Jews betrayed the US? Did they start the Civil War? No. How bout WW1, nope. WW2? nope. Did they support the Soviet Union? Unh uh, the Soviets were almost as anti-semitic as the f#####g Nazi's. So exactly when, did a group of people who constitute less than 10% of the US population, "betray" the US? The ever popular conspiracy theory? Ah yes, all the Jews work together, yeah yeah, that's the ticket. I've known numerous Jews, rich, poor, and in between. There's no conspiracy. They're just people like everyone else. There's good. bad, and mostly in between.
DNA says Hitler was an AshkeNAZI Jew. DNA says AshkeNAZI Jews are not related to the Ancient Hebrews but, rather, are an offshoot of a Turkish tribe. DNA says that the Palestinian people are the ones related to the Ancient Hebrews. Who would have guessed? Anyone that knows anything about history and what is called the Kazar Movement. That would be someone like the Chessmaster Bobby Fischer, born an Ashkenazi Jew, but famously said "I am not anti-semetic, because I am not anti-Arab." But, then he was a "self-hating Jew." I guess Adolf Hitler, the true founder of Israel, was a self-hating Jew as well. But, then, I guess, like Israel does and did, he had nothing to do with the Apartheid Regime of South Africa, or the slime balls whom murdered thousands in Guatamala. That's the real NAZI legacy of Israel, that and the 9/11 attacks in the USA.
Is he really a Nazi or does disagreeing with Jews make you a Nazi?
Describing an entire group of people as traitors.....if he ain't a NAZI, he talks like one.
Deckie.....come say I betray or am a traitorf face to face....let's see who walks out and who is carried out the room.
IF the guy is a jew, leave him there. End of story.
Screw you Wayne! If the guy isn't an athiest, leave him there!
I say " NO DEAL " and if the man that traveled there breaking their laws sorry you should do your time also...
I doubt you will get much support on this. We are a nation made up of alomost HALF of people who either did or think it is ok to break laws as long as you are currently not a citizen. We have told the entire world that doing things illegal means that you get to vote and have rights, AS LONG AS YOU ARE A CITIZEN OF ANOTHER NATION....we lead the world in this "new" emerging industry of take or be destroyed.
Little difference between terrorists and communists. Not too surprising that they are holding hostages. Still, I say let them keep that guy. He shouldn't have been there in the first place. Communists don't like the free flow of information and can't stand people who disagree with them. Bringing them the internet was a dumb idea.
The "bad" Cubans, you sound like a Castroite tool! It's Fidel and Raul's minions who have repressed, imprisoned and executed Cubans who have dared to speak up against the their regime.
Terrorism is what the security forces of the Castro brothers used to gain control of Cuba and spread their communist revolutionary dogma through out the Americas. Its obvious that your claim to have lived in South Florida for twenty-five years is naught but the same farce used by the Castro spies to infiltrate and propagate the exile Cuban patriots working to free their fatherland from the yoke of a brutal dictatorship...
Strange mr hernandez says he knows what mr Gross is going through! He doesn't look like hes lost any weight probably is in fine health, mr Gross lose's 110lbs and looks much like a skeleton, maybe cuba is still run more by thugs than polititians same as the time before the"revolution"! the cubans just traded foreign thugs for homegrown criminals. my government isn;t much better but if the media quit manipulating the news we could elect less criminal politicians
Hey dog killer, are you still quarterbacking the eagles?
Cuba is known to have tortured prisoners and also forced malnutition as evidenced by Gross' picture. Kind of similar to our water boarding under the Bush/ Cheney regime., except for nutrition which is better in American prisons.
Yhbua Gross just went through the "Cuban diet", he was obese now he is healthier.
Funny that we call the Cubans ¨spies¨ and any american caught in a foreign country doing the same, we call him ¨hero.¨
not me, he is a dumb turd and obviously he knew the risk and took it anyways. I will not let my family be at risk of being intercepted by another nation because they have a demand today...we are putting everyone along our borders in jeopardy of being this man if we agree to trade....tomorrow it will be one of us.
We don't have any spies rasputin........shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..
The Cuban authorities did not disable the plane that was dropping leaflets, or did not dull-sabotage the fuel for the plane.
Instead, with the direct help and information supplied by the 5 Cubans agents, they simply shot it down out of the sky in international waters.
These are the "heroes" you celebrate in this article. The ones that Danny Glover lauds and praises.
No way, Jose.
The plane had penetrated Cuban airspace 25 times and Cuba had complained to the US about it. Do you refuse to acknowledge that? Of course you do because you don't want to deal with the truth. Also, the connection between ONE of the 5 and shooting down the plane is controversial at best. Stop your crazed faulty judgements, RS. And its WAY past time to stop this crazed Cuban embargo that forced Cuba to send undercover agents to stop terrorism against their country in the first place. Like the man said, you prefer Cuba send drones to kill the US terrorists? I think not 'cause the US is the only country arrogant enough to get away with that.
I didn't think those guys were pilots. They were only here to identify the traitors to their country. The Cuban government told them way in advance no fly over, what do you think we would do if another country started doing fly overs here without permission?
Only pilots referred to are the pilots from the exhiled Cuban terrorist group.
Are you kidding me? Stop the embargo? No Way, property was seized from American companies and individual Americans. When will the property be restored to the legal owners? I don't see Fidel offering and money for the seized property and lost profits. Time to grow up and realize that Fidel is, was, and always will be an enemy of the US. You don't play patee cake with those that would destroy you.
Let that joker rot in a Cuban jail... who cares. It was his own stupidity that landed him there.
Make the trade. Good deal for everyone.
Not for the next American citizen kidnapped and used as a bargaining chip for something else from the US.
The no-negotiation policy can be a tough pill to swallow sometimes but it saves lives, more than could probably ever be counted...
No trade, period. They violated US laws as well as Gross violated Cuban laws. The difference is the magnitude of th crime, what Gross was doing is not comparable to what these five were doing. The day Gross was arrested that plan was already devised, you guys dont know how the secret police in Cuba plots things. I know a woman who was a member of the MININT (Cuban intelligence agency) and you'd be surprised about the things they do and the modus operandi.
If at all, one for one, not five for one. Abajo Castro. They are maffia wearing official uniforms.
It is ridiculous that we have played cat and mouse with the Castro regime for all these years. We should have invaded years ago will all the same reasons we did so in, say, Afghanistan. 50 miles off our coast, and we let them pull this sh t! Don't think so, homey.
Meant "with"all the same reasons.
Afghanistan was invaded because that is what the British wanted, they have been invading Afghanistan over and over since 1839, and each time they get their a$$es kicked out of there. We have been actively overthrowing the Afghan government since 1973, installing our own governments there. I know, because I was in Afghanistan in '78 when the CIA overthrew their previously installed government in order to draw the Russians into Afghanistan(I could speak on this for hours as to what happened and how it was done) causing the death and injury of over 6 and 1/2 million Afghans. Then when our surrogate, Mr. Hekmatiar was unable to get control of the government there, the traditional government, the one that the Taliban is the militia of, the US CIA and Hekmatiar attacked Kabul, destroying it in the early 90's with CIA supplied missels and bombardment. That's when the CIA and the US 'walked away' as we have been told by our government and media. Bull$*it. The FBI, and even Dick Cheney, always maintained there was no evidence that Mr. bin Ladin was involved in 9/11. But, there is plenty to show that the CIA and the Mossad was. Can anyone say "American Terrorism." Because thats who we are. The Worlds biggest Terrorist Organization. Invade Cuba, that's already been done, called the Bay of Pigs (appropriately) and the CIA failed at that one. As they are doing in Afghanistan.
Of course Odumbo will take this "deal"! After all, it comes from a fellow Communist!!!!!!!!!
The fact that you not only think this way but believe it so much that you feel the need to post it and share with others really speaks volumes to your ignorance. Frankly, any idea you might carry of an ideal America must be a really crazy, warped, and scary place... Go watch reality TV and keep your voice down, adults are talking.
Nobel "Piece" Prize goes to anyone. I got mine in the mail 5 years ago...if you don't have one, you may not trendy enough. Maybe find one on eBay or the Salvation Army.
Would it be unreasonable to send every Cuban in Prison to Cuba for the trade. Not that I understand one way or another if the American was a spy, but we could cut our expenses here in the US.