Carter Not in Cuba to Free Gross

March 29, 2011

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter confirms that he is not in Cuba to free American development worker Alan Gross.

He's there to meet with the Cuban people's oppressors (the Castro brothers) and to unconditionally thaw relations with that brutal dictatorship.

UPDATE: Carter has made some time tomorrow morning to meet with a group of Cuban pro-democracy bloggers, former political prisoners and civil society activists.

From Politico:

Former President Jimmy Carter isn't in Cuba to negotiate for the release of jailed U.S. contractor Alan Gross, though he is hoping that his visit will help to thaw U.S.-Cuban relations, he said Tuesday.

Carter told reporters as he toured a convent in Old Havana that he had "spoken to some officials about the case of Mr. Gross," but indicated that his goal was not to bring the State Department contractor home. "I am not here to take him out of the country," Carter said, according to Reuters's translation of his answer, which he gave in Spanish.

"I hope we will be able to contribute to better relations between the two countries," Carter said.