U.S. contractor: Cuba work ‘cockamamie’
WASHINGTON — The American aid worker imprisoned for five years in Cuba said he had no trouble bringing sophisticated communications gear into the country and made little attempt to disguise his work to set up Internet connections.
In his most extensive comments since he was released in a prisoner swap last December, Alan Gross also said during an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that he knew his work was placing him in danger, calling it a “cockamamie program” that arose from a failed diplomatic strategy.
Gross, 66, a communications specialist who has worked in more than 50 countries, made five trips to Cuba as a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was arrested in late 2009 on accusations of spying and was later convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was freed as part of a historic announcement that the U.S. would reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba. His detention had been a sticking point in improving relations between the two countries.
Gross maintains that he went to Cuba to set up Internet access for the communist island’s small Jewish community. A 2012 investigation by The Associated Press found he was using sensitive technology typically available only to governments, and the Internet connections Gross was establishing were intended to bypass local restrictions and be hard for the government to trace.
Gross said on “60 Minutes” that the only precaution he took with the equipment was to tape over a model number on a satellite modem.
“They had every opportunity to stop me from bringing that equipment in, they knew what that equipment was, and, if they didn’t, you know, shame on them,” he said.