“I am glad to be in Havana and glad Alan Gross is not,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, referring to the U.S. State Department subcontractor, who was freed last month as part of the landmark deal. Gross had spent five years of a 15-year sentence in Cuban prison for importing banned communications equipment to Cuba.
A new era in U.S.-Cuba relations
The delegation was led by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, who played a crucial part in the negotiations to free Gross, and along with Durbin, included Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, and Rep. Christopher Van Hollen, D-Maryland.
The group met with Cuban officials to talk about improving political and trade relations.
–
“I talked to Alan about this,” Leahy said. “And he said, ‘Wow,’ I am kind of looking forward to this.'”
Obama’s Cuba details revealed
CNN’s Karl Penhaul, Kevin Bohn and Laura Koran contributed to this report.
