Alan Gross Asks to Visit His Ailing Mom

HAVANA TIMES, March 16 — Jailed American agent Alan Gross has asked Cuban President Raul Castro for permission to travel to the US for two weeks to visit his mother, 89, who is gravely ill, reported Reuters on Thursday.

According to Gross’s lawyer, he promised to return to Cuba to serve out his 15-year prison after the visiting his mother, who is suffering from inoperable cancer in both lungs.

Gross, 62, was convicted of attempting to subvert the Cuban government by acting as an operative for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  He was convicted of smuggling illegal telecomunications equipment into the country.

The United States maintains a half century economic blockade on Cuba and funds numerous programs to promote regime change on the island.