Half-Century of Conflict Backdrop to Alan Gross Trial

[Judi Lynn]

Half-Century of Conflict Backdrop to Alan Gross Trial
By Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Mar 4, 2011 (IPS) - More than 50 years of conflict between Cuba and the United States, and in particular Washington's consistent support for dissidents in this Caribbean island nation, will leave their mark on the trial of U.S. citizen Alan Gross that began this Friday.

Gross was arrested Dec. 3, 2009 when he was attempting to return to the U.S. after his fifth visit to Cuba in nine months. He is accused of acts against the independence and integrity of Cuba, punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment.

The 61-year-old U.S. citizen works for Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), based in Bethesda, Maryland, near Washington DC, which carries out development work in other countries. At the time of his arrest he was a subcontractor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

As well as alleged involvement in spying, Cuban sources have maintained for months that Gross illegally brought in satellite communications equipment to hand over to internal dissident groups, as part of a programme financed by USAID.

More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54718

[Peace Patriot]

1. The U.S. is spending $45 MILLION of our tax dollars to foment trouble in Cuba.

"According to Cuban-American lawyer José Pertierra, after Bush took office 'the budget for fomenting an opposition in Cuban society allied to the interests of Miami (where most Cuban exiles live) and the White House increased astronomically, from 3.5 million dollars in 2000 to 45 million in 2008.'" --from the OP

This is grossly misspent money, as is the billions of Pentagon, USAID, CIA, DEA, State Department and other appropriations of OUR TAX DOLLARS to propagandize Latin Americans to support rightwing political causes, to militarize their societies with our corrrupt, murderous, failed "war on drugs" and to corrupt and distort their democracies to favor U.S "free trade for the rich." Our corporate/war profiteer rulers have the same agenda there as they do here--control of government power and enslavement of everybody to their will. And they are using OUR money to pursue these goals in Latin America! What a cruel irony that is--when our school systems and emergency services are going bankrupt here, and more and more of our people fall into poverty?