Amb. Bolaños

Wolf Blitzer
The Situation Room
CNN America, Inc.
820 First Street NE
8th Floor
Washington D.C. 20002-4243

Dear Mr. Blitzer:

In connection with your conversation with Mr. Alan Gross, broadcasted on May 4, 2012 in "The Situation Room", I'm writing to request that my government's positions on the case be equally made known. These are:

1. The Cuban government has conveyed to the U.S. government Cuba's willingness to find a humanitarian solution on reciprocal basis to the case of Mr. Gross.
2. Mr. Gross was not convicted for helping Cuban Jewish to connect to the Internet. All Cuban synagogues have Internet; they had Internet before Mr. Gross came to Cuba.
3. Mr. Gross violated Cuban laws by implementing a U.S. government program aimed at attacking Cuba's constitutional order. The undercover activities of Mr. Gross in Cuba constitute crimes in many countries, including in the United States.
4. During his visits to Cuba, Mr. Gross never told the people he contacted that he was working for the U.S. government. He is not an activist who came to Cuba to assist the Cuban people; he is a professional paid for by the U.S. government.
5. Mr. Alan Gross is in good physical conditions, he receives specialized medical care, balanced meals, regular consular access, visits by friends and political and religious personalities. He has had visits by his wife and he maintains systematic and stable communication with his family.
6. The cases of Rene Gonzalez and Alan Gross are very different. Rene served his sentence to the last day, and he remains in the U.S. against his will, away from his family. The decision by a Florida federal judge to allow Rene to travel to Cuba is in line with the conditions imposed for Rene's supervised release, which allow his traveling to Cuba, following authorization by the probation officer or the court. His wife Olga is not even allowed to visit him during his term of supervised release.
7. The Cuban government has facilitated all visits by family members, friends, religious figures and political personalities that have requested access to Mr. Gross. These conditions are very different from the cruel regime of solitary confinement that has been arbitrarily meted out against the Cuban Five: Gerardo, Ramon, Antonio, Fernando and even Rene. They have strict restrictions against giving interviews to the U.S. press.
8. The Five have been almost 14 years in U.S. prisons, for gathering information on terrorist groups conducting attacks against Cuba from the U.S. Such information helped save lives in both countries. The Five were not in the possession of government secrets nor did they attempt against the U.S. security.
9. Contacts by the Five with their families have faced obstacles and two of them, Gerardo and Rene have not been visited by their wives, Adriana and Olga. Gerardo's mother died while he was in prison, and the mothers and fathers of the other four are very old. Gerardo and his wife have not been able to conceive a child.

Sincerely,

Jorge A. Bolaños Suárez
Chief of the Cuban Interests Section
Washington DC

Wolf Blitzer
The Situation Room
CNN America, Inc.
820 First Street NE
8th Floor
Washington D.C. 20002-4243

Estimado Sr. Blitzer:

En relación con su conversación con el Sr. Alan Gross, transmitida el 4 de mayo de 2012 en su programa “The Situation Room”, tengo a bien solicitarle que las posiciones de mi gobierno sobre el caso sean igualmente difundidas. Estas son:

1. El Gobierno de Cuba ha trasladado al Gobierno de EE.UU. su disposición a dialogar para buscar una solución humanitaria al caso de Gross sobre bases recíprocas.
2. El Sr. Gross no está preso por ayudar a los judíos a conectarse a Internet. Todas las sinagogas cubanas tienen Internet y la tenían antes de que Gross viniera a Cuba.
3. El Sr. Gross violó las leyes cubanas, al implementar un programa del Gobierno de EE.UU. para atentar contra el orden constitucional cubano. Las actividades encubiertas realizadas por Gross en Cuba constituyen delitos en muchos otros países del mundo, incluyendo Estados Unidos.
4. En sus visitas a Cuba, Gross nunca dijo a las personas que contactó que trabajaba para el Gobierno de EE.UU. No es un trabajador voluntario que vino a ayudar al pueblo de Cuba, es un profesional pagado por el Gobierno de EE.UU.
5. Alan Gross está en buenas condiciones físicas, recibe atención médica especializada, alimentación balanceada, acceso consular sistemático, visitas de amistades y personalidades políticas y religiosas. Ha recibido visitas de su esposa y mantiene comunicación sistemática y estable con su familia.
6. Los casos de René González y Alan Gross son muy diferentes. René cumplió hasta el último día su sentencia y permanece en EE.UU. en contra de su voluntad, alejado de su familia, la cual vive en Cuba. La decisión de una jueza federal de Florida de autorizar el viaje de René se corresponde plenamente con las condiciones establecidas para su libertad supervisada de René, las cuales permiten que él viaje a Cuba, previa aprobación del oficial probatorio o de la corte. A su esposa Olga no se le permite ni siquiera visitarlo durante el período de libertad supervisada.
7. El Gobierno de Cuba ha facilitado todas las visitas de familiares, amigos, figuras religiosas y personalidades políticas que han pedido tener acceso al Sr. Gross. Estas condiciones son muy distintas al régimen cruel de aislamiento que se le ha impuesto a los Cinco cubanos: Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio, Fernando e incluso a René. Ellos tienen estrictas restricciones para dar entrevistas a la prensa de EE.UU.
8. Los Cinco llevan casi 14 años presos en cárceles norteamericanas por buscar información sobre grupos terroristas que atentaron contra Cuba desde EE.UU. Esa información ayudó a salvar vidas en ambos países. No obtuvieron secretos del gobierno ni atentaron contra la seguridad de EE.UU.
9. Los contactos de los Cinco con sus familiares se han visto obstaculizados y dos de ellos (Gerardo y René) no han podido ser visitados por sus esposas, Olga y Adriana. La madre de Gerardo falleció mientras estaba en prisión, los padres y madres de los otros cuatro son personas de edad avanzada. Gerardo y su esposa no han podido concebir un hijo.

Sinceramente,

Jorge Bolaños Suárez
Jefe de la Sección de Intereses de Cuba en Washington