Gadget Wizard Sentenced to 15 Years for Setting Up Jewish Internet in Cuba

Alan Gross, who tried to establish a satellite Internet service for Cuba’s Jews, is crying foul as he sits in a Cuban prison for 15 years.

This Internet service is alleged to have been promoted as a humanitarian effort through funding by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID is involved in countries around the world, providing economic, humanitarian and development assistance. Gross, though, said he was a member of a Jewish humanitarian group and not a member of the U.S. government.

Cuba claims that it caught Gross in possession of a secretive device that masks satellite signals and makes them nearly impossible to trace.

Raul Castro, Cuba’s president, called Gross a spy and sentenced him to 15 years in the gulag for trying to “undermine the integrity and independence” of Cuba. A spokesman for the U.S. said Gross did nothing wrong by engaging in a humanitarian mission.

At his Cuban trial, Gross called himself “a trusting fool” who had been duped.

Associated Press (AP) investigative reporters claim they have trip reports from Gross, showing that he was very aware of the dangers he faced by smuggling sensitive communication equipment into Cuba.

AP claims these communications show Gross saying that “This is very risky business in no uncertain terms.”

In another communication, Gross allegedly said: “Detection of satellite signals will be catastrophic.”

These and other communications are presented by AP as proof that Gross knew he was engaged in espionage.

Gross is head of a company called JBDC, Inc. The company is involved in setting up Internet communications in remote regions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Apparently, Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) had subcontracted with Gross’ firm to deliver information systems to Cuba. DAI allegedly had a multimillion dollar contract with USAID to defeat Cuba’s information blockade.

AP received sensitive documents from a source it refused to name to tell this story. These reports allege that Gross undertook significant steps to avoid detection by Cuban authorities. For example, Gross enlisted Jewish operatives in America to smuggle electronic parts into Cuba by concealing them in carry-on luggage.

In December, 2009, Gross made his final and ultimately fatal trip to Cuba by carrying a sensitive piece of hardware that defeated electronic countermeasures to pinpoint satellite transmissions. These are devices typically used by the CIA and the Department of Defense and can’t be bought by the public.

A spokesman from USAID denied that it had supplied Gross with the device. The Cuban communists believe all work done by USAID is illegal and a threat to its security.

Cuba’s communists consider Internet access under the rubric of national security and only allow a highly restricted Intranet service on the island.

Most authoritarian governments fear the Internet because it can undermine the control these dictators have over their people. Cuba considers any criticism of its communist dictatorship as counterrevolutionary.

U.S. diplomats speculate that the Gross arrest was designed to send a signal of displeasure to the Obama administration. The U.S. government’s democracy-promoting programs are not welcome in Cuba. They are illegal, in fact.

Because Cuba rejects all U.S. democracy efforts, such programs could not exist without engaging in some manner of secrecy and subterfuge. People are, literally, risking their lives to carry out these programs.

USAID has denied any involvement in these programs despite $20 million in funding designated to provide communication technology to Cubans. Democracy promotion is “absolutely central” to the agency’s role, according to the head of USAID. USAID, at congressional hearings, has admitted that it uses contractors to carry software into countries.

U.S. government officials insist that Gross’ work was not subversive because he only wanted to give the Cuban-Jewish community better Internet access.

People familiar with Gross said he was a man intimately familiar with communications. It’s believed that he set up three Wi-Fi hotspots on the island that would offer expanded and free Internet access to thousands of Cubans, including many Jews.

Gross identified himself as a man working with Jewish organizations. Most equipment Gross brought into Cuba is legal on the island. That equipment included laptops, Blackberrys, satellite phones, hard drives, routers, controllers and networking switches. Satellite equipment, though, is illegal.

At his court trial, Gross denied culpability and said he was guilty of being a trusting fool. “I was used,” he said.

Gross, 62, currently rests in a bed at a military prison hospital. His family has expressed concerns for his health. He’s lost 100-pounds since his imprisonment. Cuba has shown no willingness to release Gross for humanitarian reasons.