x-post: American Imprisoned in Cuba Sues Ex-Employer, US

[flamingdem]

* Wouldn't it be funny if ole Alan ended up getting the Cuban 5 released

An American imprisoned in Cuba for nearly three years is suing his former Maryland employer and the United States government for $60 million, saying they didn't adequately train him or disclose risks he was undertaking by doing development work on the Communist island.

Alan Gross and his wife Judy sued Friday in federal court in Washington. The lawsuit alleges that the economic development company Gross was working for in Cuba and the U.S. government, with which the company had a contract, failed to provide Gross "with the education and training that was necessary to minimize the risk of harm to him."

Gross, 63, was arrested in December 2009 while on his fifth trip to Cuba. The trip was part of a project to increase the availability of Internet access in the country, particularly to the island's small Jewish community. Gross was working on the effort as a subcontractor for Development Alternatives Inc., an economic development company based in Bethesda, Md.

The company, known as DAI, was a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. government agency that provides economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide. USAID has been criticized by Cuba for seeking to promote democratic change on the island, and Cuba says its programs are a veiled attempt by Washington to undermine the government.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/man-jailed-cuba-sues-employer-us-government-17740059#.UKbCtoXNM7A


This is huge news. This pins the tail on the donkey of the previously denied role of USAID in sending Alan Gross into a job that was NOT about "helping the Jewish community" with telecommunications but was instead essentially espionage.

This means that the USA should release the so called Cuban spies that are in prison in the USA, who weren't undermining the US but keeping tabs on terrorist activities against the Cuban people.

C'mon Obama let's do a spy swap and then lift the embargo. Gross has been a sticking point.

[Daniel537]

1. Now that the election is over

there is no excuse for the US not to do a prisoner swap for Gross. I sympathize with him and his family, but he was admittedly sent there by the US govt., so what the hell did we expect would happen if he was caught, especially after the lengthy sentences we gave to the Cuban 5? Obama needs to put an end to these programs which will result in more Americans being imprisoned. If Americans want to help the Cuban people, what better way than by lifting all these insane sanctions and letting Americans freely interact with Cubans, without the badge of "US Govt. Official" labeled on them.