Why's Hillary Asking for Help on Alan Gross?

BY: CAPITOL HILL CUBANS





January 28, 2011


This week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked Spain's Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez to intervene with the Castro regime on behalf of U.S. development worker Alan Gross.

Gross has been held hostage by the Castro regime without charges, trial or any sort of due process for nearly 14 months.

But how could this be?

Didn't Reuters report that great progress had been made on the Alan Gross front and that he would be home soon?

Or maybe that's just what advocates of unconditionally normalizing relations with the Castro regime (including some U.S. officials) wanted us to believe at the time.

Even Cuba "expert" Chris Sabatini of the America's Society had predicted:

"I would venture a guess that Alan Gross will probably not be in a Cuban jail any longer than the end of this month, and probably will be out sooner than that... The White House couldn't have made these announcements without a Cuban promise to release him."

Well, think again.

The status of Alan Gross remains unchanged and sadly -- yes -- the Obama Administration did ease sanctions on the Castro regime without a promise to release him.

Thus far, it has been all bark (concessions), no bite (tangible pressure) from the Obama Administration in securing his release.