Clinton: No Concessions To Free Marylander In Cuba

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the United States has made no deal or concessions with Cuba to free imprisoned American Alan Gross.

Clinton called the continued imprisonment of Gross "deplorable" and a violation of human rights. She told a House committee Wednesday that the United States raises the Gross case at every meeting. She said Gross "deserves to come home."

Gross, a Maryland native, is serving a 15-year jail term for spiriting satellite and other communications equipment into Cuba while on a USAID-funded democracy-building program. Cuba considers the program an attempt to destabilize its government, and Gross was convicted of crimes against the state, not espionage.

Clinton said, in her words: "We've made no deals, we've offered no concessions and we don't intend to do so."

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)