Tag Archives: Alan Gross

May 17, 2013

“Satellite dishes don’t look like surf boards”

In Revisiting Operation Surf, investigative journalist Tracey Eaton converses with Robert Guerra, former director of Freedom House’s Internet Freedom Project, about the attempt to smuggle satellite dishes into Cuba by disguising them as boogie boards. Cuba’s government says that Guerra was the “handler” for the actual smuggler, Barry Fink, a… read more »

May 3, 2013

In Cuba: USAID Flies Into the Cuckoo’s Nest

In his aptly named Into the Cuckoo’s Nest, investigative journalist Tracey Eaton provides three great examples of how schizophrenic U.S. policy toward Cuba can be, all drawn from USAID’s program there. Typically, development programs provide access to clean water, food, shelter and medical attention—that is, they seek to alleviate poverty…. read more »

April 30, 2013

Former U.S. diplomat Patrick Ryan: Time to drop Cuba from terror list

Former U.S. diplomat Patrick Ryan, The Hill – As a former U.S. diplomat who authored the 2007-09 Country Reports on Terrorism for Nigeria and visited Cuba many times on official business, I believe keeping Cuba on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism is absurd and highly political, particularly given… read more »

April 26, 2013

USAID may slash Cuba program, while Office of Cuba Broadcasting carries on as usual

At a time when the national news is dominated by talk of deficits, budget cuts and sequestration, at least two Senators are incensed that USAID is proposing a modest 6% cut in its 2014 fiscal year budget. Rajiv Shah, USAID’s administrator, explained to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “We have… read more »

April 18, 2013

Secretary of State: No swap of Cuban spies for Alan Gross

Juan O. Tamayo, Miami Herald – Secretary of State John Kerry has declared the U.S. government will not swap five Cuban spies held in the United States for American Alan Gross, serving a 15-year prison term in Havana, but is pushing to win his release as a “humanitarian gesture.” “They… read more »

March 22, 2013

CUBA CENTRAL Newsblast: Cuba and Climate Change

There is a scientific consensus that climate change is real.  Not everyone agrees, but the people who don’t believe it are answering to an awfully scornful title: climate change deniers. Since assuming leadership in 2006, following the illness of his brother, President Raúl Castro initiated a gradual process to update… read more »

March 19, 2013

Alan Gross tells all

The truth might not make Alan Gross free, but the truth underlying his arrest, conviction, and imprisonment is essential for understanding his plight.  The truth is coming out; not, regrettably, from the U.S. government, which sent him on his ill-fated mission, but via documents filed in U.S. District Court. As… read more »

March 15, 2013

CUBA CENTRAL Newsblast: Cuba A-Z (from Aruca to Zoo-bio)

The New York Times once described him as “a cheerful, box-shaped man with a face like a friendly bulldog.”  Like a bulldog, Francisco Aruca was resolute and courageous, friendly with strangers and, when provoked, he was a force to be reckoned with. So, we were stricken when friends like Silvia… read more »

March 13, 2013

Lawyer: Gross can’t collect any money

If there were a list of the top ten reasons why someone should not sign up to be a USAID or DAI subcontractor, this would have to be one of them. Investigative journalist Tracey Eaton presents the response of Federal Insurance Co. to a lawsuit filed against it by USAID… read more »

February 24, 2013

US senator urges flexibility over American jailed in Cuba

AFP – A prominent US senator back from a trip to Cuba said Sunday that “give and take” by both sides is needed to gain the release of a US contractor being held on the communist-ruled island. Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the US Senate’s Judiciary Committee, met with President… read more »