Cuba says it proposed talks on jailed American, no U.S. response

Reuters
Jeff Franks

Judy Gross, wife of U.S. aid contractor Alan Gross who is jailed in Cuba, 
speaks during an interview for Reuters with Reuters at her apartment in Washington October 23, 2010.

Cuba has proposed talks with the United States about resolving the case of jailed American contractor Alan Gross, but has received no response, indicating a lack of interest by Washington, a top Cuban diplomat said on Monday.

Foreign Ministry official Josefina Vidal said at a press conference that Cuba had proposed discussions "as a first step for the development of a process ... toward finding a solution to the case of Mr. Alan Gross."

Gross, 63, has been jailed since December 2009 and is serving a 15-year sentence for illegally setting up Internet networks in Cuba under a U.S. program that promotes political change on the communist island.

The Cuban government views the program as subversive.

Gross' imprisonment put the brakes on efforts by President Barack Obama to improve long-hostile relations between the two countries just 90 miles apart. Gross' wife said last week she feared for her husband's life because his health is deteriorating. Cuba denied that.

Cuban officials have said before that they would be open to talks about Gross, but this was the first time known that they have said they had proposed them.

"I want to ratify today that up to this moment we have not received a response from the government of the United States," said Vidal, who is the Cuban Foreign Ministry's director of North American relations.

"We have only heard some public declarations they made to the press in which the government of the United States has said that it has nothing to talk about nor anything to negotiate with the government of Cuba over this issue," Vidal said.

"Therefore, it is clear that it is not Cuba, but the United States that is not showing interest in this case."

She gave no details of Cuba's proposal, but she spoke at an event concerning the "Cuban Five" - Cuban agents jailed or paroled in the United States on spying charges.

Cuban officials have hinted that a swap of Gross for the five agents, who received lengthy sentences in a 2001 trial in Miami, would resolve the case. The U.S. has insisted such a deal is out of the question.

U.S. officials said last year they had suggested a swap of Gross for one agent, Rene Gonzalez, who is out on parole in Florida, but Cuba turned it down.

Cuba feels the five agents were unjustly convicted and made their freedom a national cause, referring to them as the "Five Heroes."

At Monday's event in the Cuban capital, U.S. lawyers for the five took part in a video conference from Washington to discuss their latest attempt to appeal the case, which includes charges that the U.S. government paid journalists during the trial and tainted news coverage.

(Editing by Kevin Gray and Christopher Wilson)

NYT: Investigate Four Questions Surrounding Assange Case

Editor's Note:  Here's an interesting side note for the Assange/Wikileaks puppet show.

Just Foreign Policy

Until now, major media have allowed U.S., British and Swedish officials to get away with claiming that the British and Swedish legal pursuit of Julian Assange has nothing to do with the prospect of a U.S. prosecution of WikiLeaks, even though there is considerable evidence to the contrary. Recent developments in the case have given media an opportunity to revisit the issue.

Join us in urging the New York Times to pursue four basic questions whose answers are crucial to judging claims that there is no connection between the cases, and no danger that Assange would be extradited from Sweden to the United States, by signing the petition below.

We, the undersigned, urge you to work to establish answers to four questions which are crucial to judging official claims that there is no connection between the British/Swedish legal case against Julian Assange and the prospect of a U.S. prosecution of WikiLeaks, and that there is no danger that Assange would be extradited from Sweden to the United States:

1. Why won't Sweden agree to question Julian Assange in the U.K.?

2. Why won't Sweden say that it won't extradite Assange to the United States if he voluntarily goes to Sweden?

3. Why won't Britain say that they won't agree to a U.S. extradition request for Assange from Sweden?

4. Why won't the U.S. say that it will not seek Julian Assange's extradition from Sweden?

'Illegal' Snatch: US wants to grab all data on European air passengers

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United States: Terrorist found ‘not guilty’, Venezuela demands extradition

Luis Posada Carriles

The Venezuelan government has repeated its request to the United States government for the extradition of terrorist and ex-CIA agent Luis Posada Carriles. Posada Carriles was found not guilty by a Texas court on April 8 of charges of violating US immigration law.

Posada Carriles is wanted by Venezuela for his role in the blowing up a Cuban airplane in 1976 . The plane’s 73 passengers, all civilians, were killed. Posada Carriles escaped from a Venezuelan prison in 1985.

Venezuela’s foreign ministry issued the statement abridged below on April 8.

* * *
The Venezuelan government strongly states its indignation at the farce staged in Texas, and at the continuing protection afforded to the terrorist Luis Posada Carriles.

He was accused, and now declared innocent, of obstructing of justice and illegal immigration. In fact, his guilt has to do with proven terrorist acts.

The US Department of Justice said it was “disappointed” with the court’s sentence. Nevertheless, over the past five years it has done nothing to initiate the extradition process requested by Venezuela and supported by the victims of the Posada Carriles’ terrorist acts.

The US government’s protection of Posada Carriles has become an emblematic case of US double standards in the international fight against terrorism.

The Venezuelan government reiterates its request to extradite Posada Carriles — first presented to the US government in 2005 — so he can be sent to Venezuela and be prosecuted over the terrorist attack that killed 73 people on Cubana de Aviacion flight 455.

Venezuela has delivered a request for the US government to immediately present the extradition request to the US judicial system. This is compliance with the extradition treaty signed by Venezuela and the US.