A US federal judge granted permission last night for convicted Cuban spy René González to visit Cuba to see his ailing brother. He may remain in Cuba for a period of two weeks after his arrival on the island. Gonzalez, who served 13 years in prison, was paroled last year and is required to serve his three year probation in the United States. Among Gonzalez's crimes were infiltrating the Cuban exile organization Hermanos al Rescate, a group whose pilots combed the Caribbean in search of Cuban rafters attempting to flee the island. In 1996, four of the organizations members were killed when Cuban fighter jets shot them down in the Caribbean.
Granting Gonzalez's request to visit his sick family member in Cuba might pressure the Cuban government to grant a similar request from American Alan Gross, who was arrested for delivering satellite communication equipment to members of Cuba's Jewish community. Gross was sentenced last year to 15 years in prison. He has asked the Cuban government to allow him to travel to the United States to visit his 89 year-old mother, whose health is failing.
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