After 5 Years in Captivity, Cuba Has Released American Contractor Alan Gross in a Prisoner Swap

Just a few short weeks after learning that the United States launched a failed attempt to rescue one of our hostages, Luke Somers, who was being held in Yemen, we are now hearing of another hostage who has been released. Alan Gross, 65, was working as a U.S. contractor in Cuba in 2009 when he was arrested for bringing telecommunications devices into the country. He was later convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison, but as of this morning, Dec. 17, Gross is on a plane bound for Washington, D.C.

According to ABC News, Gross has been in poor health for some time and has refused medical care. Gross is said to now be blind in one eye, suffering from arthritis in one hip and nearly toothless. He was also staging a hunger strike, which he promised would ultimately lead to his death if he was not released this year. In exchange for Gross, the U.S. has agreed to hand over three Cuban agents who were convicted of espionage back in the 1990s. Sources say all three have been housed at a federal medical facility in North Carolina.

This prisoner trade is believed to be a huge step toward a new kind of relationship with Cuba. The humanitarian release is believed to be a goodwill gesture intended to indicate that neither side wants to continue on with any sort of hostility.

Do you think this first step will really help pave the way toward a better relationship between the countries? Do you approve of the U.S. swapping three prisoners in order to secure Gross's release? What do you think is the future of United States-Cuba relations? Should the embargo be lifted? What else should the U.S. do, if anything?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.