HAVANA — A Cuban court Saturday found U.S. contractor Alan Gross guilty of crimes against the state and sentenced him to 15 years in prison, a verdict that brought a swift and strongly worded condemnation from Washington.
The court said prosecutors had proved that Gross, 61, was working on a “subversive” program paid for by the United States that aimed to bring down Cuba’s revolutionary system.
Gloria Berbena, a spokeswoman for the U.S. diplomatic mission on the island, termed the decision “appalling” and called on Cuba to release Gross immediately.
Gross was arrested in December 2009 while on a USAID- backed democracy-building project. The U.S. government and Gross’ family say he was working to improve Internet access for the island’s Jewish community, did nothing wrong and should be released.
Cuban officials have called him a mercenary and said his motives were more nefarious. The court said the program that Gross worked on — part of a $20 million Washington effort to support democracy on the island — showed that the U.S. government continues to seek the overthrow of a Cuban government ruled since 1959 by brothers Fidel and Raul Castro.
Since the trial began, Cuba has stepped up its denunciation of such programs. Last week, state television aired a program detailing the history of the USAID effort, with officials saying it showed Washington was waging a cyberwar.
