Alan Gross thanked President Obama Wednesday after his release from a Cuba prison, saying the reopening of diplomatic talks between Washington and Havana was a “game-changer, which I totally support.”
Gross was freed after five years in captivity in Cuba, jailed following his attempts to set up Internet connections in a small Jewish community in Cuba. Gross and an unnamed American intelligence source were released from a Cuban prison in exchange for three Cuban prisoners convicted of spying in the United States.
The release of Gross proved to be the final barrier to the Obama administration re-engaging with the Castro regime, the first such talks between the two nations in 50 years.
“Two wrongs never make a right,” Gross, said condemning the “belligerent policies” of the U.S. and Cuba, a standoff he said only punished ordinary Cubans.
Obama has faced some criticism from Cuban-American lawmakers who argue he offered the Castro regime a lifeline without receiving pledges for Democratic reforms.
Gross, back on U.S. soil for the first time in a half-decade, defended the White House’s actions on Wednesday.
“I support the president,” Gross said, before leaving the stage with his family.
