US aid worker in Cuba ‘spy’ trial

An American aid contractor accused of subversive activities in Cuba will go on trial in Havana on Friday, possibly prompting a setback in US-Cuba relations.

The charges against Alan Gross, 61, involve illegal distribution of imported satellite communications equipment on the communist island.

Mr Gross has been imprisoned for 15 months and is reported to be ill.

A three-judge panel will hear the case. It is only expected to last one day.

Mr Gross, a longtime development worker with experience in numerous countries, was arrested in late 2009 while working for the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

His project involved distributing mobile phones and laptops, and helping improve internet access for Jewish Cubans, reportedly so they could communicate with other Jewish communities around the world.

Frosty relations

Early this year, Mr Gross, who had been travelling on a tourist visa, was charged with “acts against the integrity and independence” of Cuba.

A White House spokesman condemned the charges, saying that they had “compounded an injustice suffered by a man helping to increase the free flow of information to, from, and among the Cuban people”.

The USAID project aims to foster political change in Cuba, and Cuban authorities view it as an extension of a decades-long attempt to undermine the Castro government.

Mr Gross’s trial comes at a time when the tense US-Cuba relationship appeared to be slowly thawing.

US President Barack Obama softened trade sanctions, but some Cubans have dismissed that as a singular, modest step rather than a serious effort to repair relations.

If Mr Gross is convicted and receives the maximum sentence – 20 years – relations between the US and Cuba are likely to deteriorate further. But some Cuba experts predict that a deal for his release may have already been struck behind the scenes.

Family struggles

Mr Gross’s wife, Judy, has pleaded with the Cuban government for her husband’s release on humanitarian grounds.

The 6ft (1.83m) American suffers from gout, ulcers and has developed arthritis in prison.

He has shed 90lb (41kg) during his incarceration. Traditional fried Cuban food is difficult for him to stomach, so his diet has consisted mainly of fruit, according to the Washington Post.

While in prison, his family has suffered additional blows.

Mr Gross’s 26-year-old daughter found out she had breast cancer after his arrest, and underwent a double mastectomy in February. That same month, his 88-year-old mother was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Mrs Gross has been allowed to visit her husband in prison once, amid protests from the Castro government that the families of five Cuban spies detained in the US for over a decade have not been extended the same courtesy.

Mr Gross had worked on development projects in places including the Palestinian territories, Kenya and Gambia. More recently, he helped US agencies and companies with satellite internet access in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But he had limited experience in Cuba and may have caught the attention of authorities after travelling there five times in nine months.

The Washington Post reports he had had no training in working in communist countries, nor was he fluent in Spanish.

Mrs Gross says her husband was not particularly religious, but derived great joy from his work with the small Jewish community – about 1,500 people – in Cuba.