Cuba agent: US-Afghan prisoner swap a precedent

The Washington Post

HAVANA — A Cuban intelligence agent who spent years in jail in the United States says the exchange of five Taliban detainees for a U.S. Army sergeant held captive in Afghanistan could set a precedent for a similar swap with Cuba.

Fernando Gonzalez returned to the island in February after serving 15 years behind bars.

Gonzalez said Monday that the only thing needed is political will by the Obama administration to negotiate a swap of U.S. government subcontractor Alan Gross for three Cuban agents still imprisoned in the United States.

Gross was arrested in Cuba in 2009 while working to set up hard-to-detect Internet networks on the island as part of a U.S. government development contract. He was sentenced to 15 years.