He spent more than 25 years traveling the world, helping people in more than 50 countries. But for the past five, Alan Gross had been stuck in a Cuban prison, losing his hope, health and more than 100 pounds.
A landmark deal announced Wednesday between the United States and Cuba included his release.
Gross, now 65, was a subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development, working to bring the Internet to Cuba’s small Jewish community despite Cuban government restrictions on Internet access, the U.S. State Department said.
The communist nation accused him of smuggling in banned communications equipment and sentenced him to 15 years.
“Alan is resolved that he will not endure another year imprisoned in Cuba, and I am afraid that we are at the end,” his wife, Judy Gross, said this month.
“After five years of literally wasting away, Alan is done,” she said. “It is time for President Obama to bring Alan back to the United States now; otherwise, it will be too late.”
In July, Gross said goodbye to his wife and daughter, and he refused to see them again while he was imprisoned.
He also refused to meet with U.S. diplomats in Havana to protest the slow progress in efforts to free him.