Alan Gross freed as Cuban relations thaw

Cuba brought to the negotiating table in part d/t consequence of oil pricing.

Obama issued an EO. It allows Visa/Mastercard use, US telecom investment in Cuba, softening tourism regulations.

Cuba concomitantly opens doors to US investment, opening of internet, freer exchange of information for Cubans, exchange of detainees.

The timing is interesting.
US negotiations with Cuba won't be received well by the Cuban-American community. On heels of the Jeb Bush announcement with his Miami base, it makes for an interesting political dynamic.

Pertinent to Gross, here is some information.

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Alan Phillip Gross (born May 2, 1949) is a U.S. international development professional. In December 2009 he was arrested while in Cuba working as a U.S. government subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of a program funded under the 1996 Helms-Burton Act. He was prosecuted in 2011 after being accused of crimes against the Cuban state for bringing satellite phones and computer equipment (to members of Cuba’s Jewish community) without the permit required under Cuban law. After being accused of working for American intelligence services in January 2010, he was ultimately convicted for “acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the state" in March 2011. He was released from Cuban prison on December 17, 2014.

LINK

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November 2011 -- New Jewish Push To Free Alan Gross
As Diplomacy Falters, Wife Pleads for Release From Cuban Jail