Jesse Jackson hopes to see imprisoned American Alan Gross in Cuba, meet with religious leaders

HAVANA – The Rev. Jesse Jackson is in Cuba and says he hopes to meet with jailed American government subcontractor Alan Gross.

Jackson says he is in town for talks with religious leaders about their concerns for the poor, and peaceful relations between Cuba, the United States and the rest of the Caribbean.

Asked whether he would meet with Gross, Jackson says "I would like to."

Gross was arrested in 2009 after being caught importing restricted communications equipment into Cuba. He says he was only setting up Internet for island Jewish groups, but he was sentenced to 15 years.

Jackson has helped gain freedom for U.S. citizens in Yugoslavia, Syria and Iraq. In 2011 he offered to reprise that role in the Gross case.

He spoke briefly Friday outside a Havana hotel.