Freed U.S. contractor Alan Gross is on Twitter — and he's all smiles about it
LatestHe’s got a new Twitter account. And a new smile to boot.
Alan Gross, the former American government contractor whose release from a Cuban jail last December paved the way for a historic thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations, is offering an online peek into his new life back home.
The 65-year-old Gross has apparently moved from the non-connectivity of a Cuban jail to the hyper-connectivity of life back in the U.S. with relative ease, venturing boldly into the brave new world of Twitter. After quietly starting his @AlanPGross account last month, Gross has cranked up his Twitter activity in recent days, posting a flurry of pics and comments to his 292 followers chronicling his new life as a free man after five years in a Havana jail.
On Monday, Gross showed off his new smile by tweeting before-and-after pics of himself with a new set of teeth, after losing five of his chompers behind bars in Cuba.
He’s also decided he’s ready to get back behind the wheel.
Gross was arrested in 2009 and convicted in a Cuban court two years later of espionage. He was sentenced to 15 years for bringing Internet communications equipment into Cuba under a U.S. program that promotes political change on the communist-led island.
The Cuban government accused Gross of being part of a plot to undermine President Raul Castro. The U.S. government described Gross, who worked on a democracy-building project financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as helping to improve Internet connectivity for Cubans.
Jill Zuckman, a spokesperson for Gross, declined Fusion’s request for comment on her client’s recent Twitter activity, which so far is limited to only 25 tweets, ranging from a picture of him reuniting with his sister to another where he reflects on food he longed for during his imprisonment.
Gross also offers some thoughts on the new direction of U.S-Cuban relations.
Gross also seems to question Cuba’s longtime complaint about the impact of the U.S. embargo against Cuba.
In another tweet, Gross offers this reflection on his time in prison.
Follow Alan Gross on Twitter @AlanPGross.