Page 494 - Captivity News Today

U.s. intelligence agent. in turn, three convicted cuban spies were sent back to cuba. the aforementioned jim avila is in havana. >> reporter: just look at this scene provided exclusively to abc news by senator jeff flake who was on board the plane. this is alan gross looking out the window at freedom. on a plane stocked with popcorn and a corned beef sandwich, food he missed in captivity. and then the announcement he waited for. >> u.s. air space. how is that? >> reporter: alan gross wastes no t...

Aisle who pushed for grosss release. one of them senator bill nelson of florida is with us. senator, thank you so much for taking the time. always a pleasure to have you on. can you talk about these efforts to get him free. they can you talk about these efforts to get him free? they went on for quite some time. >> i want to say at the outset because youre getting mixed reviews. im as anti-castro as any of them. this is a good exchange of two americans held in captivity for three cubans and then ...

Trading the american for convicted criminal is extremely dangerous precedents. he says the actions on cuba vindicates the brutal behavior of the cuban government, so what about the united states charting new ground? senator marco rubio from florida is with me now. his parents fled cuba in the 1950s immigrating to the u.s. as fidel castro began his rise to power. thank you for your time. your reaction and what we expect today. >> first of all obviously we are glad mr. gross is back with his famil...

Remarking on all of the reporters who were there to cover his return, his release from a cuban prison, was he noticed that there were two american flags behind the podium and he looked over and he touched one of them. i guess it had probably been the first time he touched or seen an american flag in more than five years other than on the plane he was on perhaps this morning. he seemed remarkably composed as you heard. and then there was another thing we had been told about by the family spokesma...

This is the first time we have heard from him yet. take a listen. >> to all those who tried to visit me but were unable to, thank you for trying. i am at your service as soon as i get new teeth. it was crucial to my survival knowing that i was not forgotten. your prayers and your actions have been comforting, reassuring and sustaining. ultimately the decision to arrange for and secure my release was made in the oval office. to president obama and the nsc staff, thank you. in my last letter to pr...

Ever. were going to turn it over to wolf blitzer whos going to take us to the presidents big speech. wolf? >> hello, im wolf blitzer in washington. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. only minutes away from a major announcement from the white house. president obama about to declare an historic thaw in u.s. relations with cuba. and it begins with a prisoner swap. youve probably been watching cnn live right now of the american contractor, alan gross. he has ju...

But its taken a long time. i think that five-year captivity of alan gross was a major impediment. but he wanted to go down in history as the american president who normalized relations with cuba just as nixon was the president who normalized relations with china. >> he pledged to engage iran and cuba. you saw with iran that election in 2009 and the crackdown of the iranian opposition, that stopped him there. clearly alan gross stopped him on cuba. the president had taken some actions toward cuba...

First, lets go to our cnn global affairs correspondent. she broke the story here on cnn. whats the latest youre hearing about this? >> reporter: president obama thought this was the right moment to chart a new course on cuba, both because of the beginnings of changes on the island, some modest reforms. but also the problems it was causing for the u.s. in the region with its diplomacy. and now secretary of state john kerry saying he wants to be the first john kerry to visit havana in more than 50...

Population. give me your reaction, personal and professional. >> on the issue of mr. gross, im happy hell be back with his family. he never should have been in a cuban prison. he wasnt a spy. he was trying to provide a telecommunication equipment to a small jewish community there and hes been a hostage for five years and the cuban government almost allowed him to die in captivity. but these other measures are truly outrageous and counterproduct i have. heres why. the president will increase the ...

He felt this was the moment now because of some modest changes that are happening on the island and also because it was hurting u.s. policy in the region. now secretary of state john kerry of thes to be the first secretary to go to cuba in more than 50 years. u.s. contractor alan gross on american soil with his release, a historic opening of u.s. relations with cuba after five decades of confrontation. seeing the american flag for the first time in five years, a frail gross was overcome. his too...