American nears year mark in Cuban custody

HAVANA, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The fate of a U.S. citizen jailed in Cuba for nearly a year without being charged remains unresolved, parties involved in the matter say.

Friday marks the one-year anniversary that Alan Gross was taken into custody for illegally bringing Internet devices to Jewish groups. Cuban officials said he brought spy equipment, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

Gross's wife, Judy, said she wasn't totally prepared for his appearance when she visited him in July.

"He looked like a 70-year-old man all hunched over. He looked pale, his cheeks were sunken in; his posture was humped over. He was dragging one of his feet. That was pretty shocking," she said, adding that he had ulcers and gout.

The Cuban government recently rejected his family's plea for a humanitarian release, insisting the case proceed as any other case.

"It remains in the same situation. It still hasn't concluded. It's still being worked and when it finishes, the answer will be given," Maj. Gen. Dario Delgado Cura said. "This adheres to Cuban law. There's no problem. Everything moves ahead as was foreseen."

"I find it frustrating that Cuba has not charged Alan Gross but even more frustrating that the U.S. has not taken the steps which could have led to his release," said John McAuliff, who operates a foundation that helped normalize relations with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. "The fundamental problem is mutual respect and sovereignty."

A U.S. official told the Herald Cubans are trying to use Gross as a pawn in bilateral relations, adding that the United States isn't "going to play that game."