A year after his release from Cuban prison, American is hopeful for US-Cuba relationship

WASHINGTON – American Alan Gross spent five years in a Cuban prison before being released last year but he says he'd travel back to the island nation "in a heartbeat," as long as the government promises not to re-arrest him.

Gross was working as a U.S. government subcontractor setting up Internet access in Cuba in violation of Cuban law when he was arrested in 2009 and later sentenced to 15 years in prison. Thursday marks a year since Gross returned to the United States as part of a prisoner exchange.

He says he wants to see the new relationship between the United States and Cuba succeed. He says one "big thing" he'd like to see the United States do is get rid of the more than 50-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba.