US contractor Alan Gross has been released from a Cuban prison and is on a flight bound for the US, senior White House official said on Wednesday, amid reports of a prisoner exchange heralding a major overhaul of US policy toward Cuba.

Gross, 65, was arrested and convicted of crimes against the Cuban state after he was caught smuggling in computer and telecommunications equipment onto the island while working as a subcontractor for the US agency for international development.

Gross was freed as part of a deal which includes the release of three Cuban agents – Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, and Ramón Labañino– who were convicted of spying on anti-Castro groups in Miami.

“This morning, Alan Gross has departed Cuba on a US government plane bound for the United States. Mr Gross was released on humanitarian grounds by the Cuban government at the request of the United States,” a senior administration official told the Guardian. The official insisted on anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly by name

US president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raúl Castro are expected to address their respective nations about relations between the two countries later on Tuesday.



Alan Gross (3rd R) disembarks with his wife Judy (4th L) from a U.S. government plane as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Photograph: US senator Jeff Flake/REUTERS

Gross was detained in December 2009 while working to set up Internet access as a subcontractor for the US government’s US Agency for International Development (USAid), which does work promoting democracy in the communist country. It was his fifth trip to Cuba to work with Jewish communities on setting up Internet access that bypassed local censorship.

Cuba considers USAid’s programs illegal attempts by the US to undermine its government, and Gross was tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison.



The three Cubans released in exchange for Gross are part of the so-called Cuban Five, a group of men who were part of the “Wasp Network” sent by Cuba’s then-President Fidel Castro to spy in South Florida. The men, who are hailed as heroes in Cuba, were convicted in 2001 in Miami on charges including conspiracy and failure to register as foreign agents in the US.

Two of the Cuban Five were previously released after finishing their sentences.

In a statement marking the fifth anniversary of Gross’ detention earlier this month, Obama hinted that his release could lead to a thaw in relations with Cuba.



“The Cuban Government’s release of Alan on humanitarian grounds would remove an impediment to more constructive relations between the United States and Cuba,” Obama said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Gross’ wife Judy Gross said he was sick and gaunt. “I am afraid that we are at the end. After five years of literally wasting away, Alan is done,” she said in a statement.

Obama said last week that the US had been negotiating with Cuba for Gross’ release through a “variety of channels.”

“With respect to Cuba generally, I’ve made very clear that the policies that we have in making remittances easier for Cuban families, and making it easier for families to travel, have been helpful to people inside Cuba … ” Obama said in an interview with Fusion. “But the Cuban government still needs to make significant changes.”