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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – News of Gross’s release and the administration’s change to U.S. policy toward Cuba has swept through the streets of Little Havana.
Cuban-Americans have flocked Cafe Versailles, a political hotspot to trade opinions on the news.
CBS4’s Natalia Zea spoke with several hardline Cuban-Americans at the Little Havana cafeteria.
“It’s a good thing that they freed Alan Gross. He is a patriot,” said Cuban-American Gonzalvo Lopez.
READ: Alan Gross Released From Cuban Prison After 5 Years
Gross was arrested in Cuba in 2009 while working in the Communist-run country to set up Internet access, which bypassed local restrictions and monitoring. At the time, Gross was working as a subcontractor for the U.S. government’s U.S. Agency for International Development, which promotes democracy on the island. Cuba considers USAID’s programs illegal attempts by the U.S. to undermine its government, and Gross was tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
But the Cuban-Americans gathered at the restaurant, some with angry signs, seem to agree the U.S. government should not have released three Cuban spies detained by the U.S.
READ: A Look At The ‘Cuban Five’ Agents Jailed In US
Even though the administration is adamant Gross was released by Cuba on humanitarian grounds and not part of a swap, the three Cuban spies were also freed on Wednesday.
Officials argue Gross was not a spy and therefore would not be traded for Cubans who were. Instead, the release of the spies was a conciliatory move.
“For the last six years this administration has been negotiating with Cuba, everything in exchange for nothing. What have they done for the Cuban people?” said Lopez.
READ: Politicos React To Release Of Alan Gross, Change In Cuba Policy
Edwin Gonzalez and his father-in-law are furious about the Obama Administration’s announcement that it will restore diplomatic relations with Havana by opening up travel, trade and information between the two countries.
“I personally feel it would be a betrayal of him and what he left Cuba for,” said Gonzalez.
President Obama’s position is that isolating Cuba hasn’t worked. Most at the café agree, but still don’t want to see this change in policy.
“I absolutely agree it has not worked but sometimes you have to do something because it’s the right thing to do as a matter of principle and conviction,” said Gonzalez.
Certainly not all Cuban-Americans hold this view, especially in the younger generations who are excited about the prospect of even easier travel to Cuba.
But the hardline Cuban-Americans gathered at Cafe Versailles, many of whom risked their lives to leave communism on that island behind, are not on board with these sweeping changes.
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