Alan Gross will be paid $3.2 million for his time spent jailed in Cuba.
The former subcontractor was freed last week after spending five years in a Cuban jail. Gross, who was arrested in 2009, was working to get Internet access sans censorship to a small Jewish community, something considered subversive and worth jail time by the Cuban government.
Gross was freed Dec. 17 when the United States announced a change in diplomatic policies with the island country. He will receive the money from the federal government as part of a settlement with Development Alternatives Inc. in Bethesda, Md., the U.S. Agency for International Development announced Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
A USAID spokesman confirmed the amount was $3.2 million, though the DAI had originally sought $7 million.
The settlement “avoids the cost, delay and risks of further proceedings, and does not constitute an admission of liability by either party,” USAID said in a statement.
