Posted on 12/24/2011 3:45:24 PM PST by DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis
Jewish American Alan Gross not among thousands to be freed in a sweeping amnesty ahead of papal visit.
HAVANA - Cuba will release 2,900 prisoners in the coming days for humanitarian reasons in a sweeping amnesty ahead of a visit next spring by Pope Benedict XVI, the Cuban government said on Friday.
Those to be pardoned do not include Jewish American Alan Gross, serving 15 years in prison for setting up Internet equipment on the island under a secretive US program in a case that stalled progress in US-Cuba relations, a government spokesman said.
Cuban President Raul Castro said the ruling Council of State that granted the amnesty had "taken into account" the upcoming papal visit and requests by, among others, top Roman Catholic Church officials in Cuba and family members of the prisoners.
The US State Department declined to comment on the amnesty and its failure to include Gross, but has repeatedly said in the past that he was only providing Internet access for Jewish groups in Cuba and should be released immediately.
(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...
This is wonderful news!
Wonderful except for Gross, that is. If we are blessed enough to have a new president next year, chances might be very good that he will at least be released then.
Perhaps so.
I wonder how many of these 2900 people are political prisoners rather than your run of the mill person who just ran afoul of Castro and his thugs or really did commit crimes
My guess is zero are political prisoners
Thanks to Jimmuh Carter, Miami and South Florida were overrun after the Mariel Boatlift with hardcore criminals, the psychotic, rapist, murderers and all sorts of vermin Castro wanted to purge off his island Paradise
Actually, the criminals, lunatics, et al were at most 15% of the more than 125,000 people who were in the Mariel exodus. I realize that even one criminal is too many, but please don’t fall for the Castro propaganda - he put the bad guys in to discredit the more than 100,000 normal people who were escaping his island prison.
I understand not ALL the Cubans who escaped Castro hellhole were not the criminal element
Seriously it wasn’t that hard to figure out since I lived in Ft. Lauderdale at the time
Ok, thanks. You’d be surprised how many people, even here on FR don’t know that.
If Cuba is going to release 2,900 prisoners, they are going to release just over 20 gross.
Where is the Main Street Media regarding Alan Gross. He has been held for over 2 years in a Cuban prison.
Obama wants to normalize relations. Has Hilary done anything to help Alan Gross?
Write your Elected representatives and ask them to pressure Obama to ask Cuba to release Alan Gross.
Maybe Obama could ask Castro to release him.... Pretty Please. Oh that only worked for Obama with the Drone in Iran.
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