Cuba calls for release of Miami Five

While Bill Richardson sits patiently waiting in Havana (see my multiple posts below), Ricardo Alarcón, the president of the Cuban parliament (pictured), today called upon U.S. president Barack Obama to release immediately the so-called Miami Five. In other words, a prisoner swap for imprisoned U.S. contractor Alan Gross. The Five are Cuban agents who were arrested in south Florida in the late 1990s, charged with espionage and national security offenses. All were convicted and given lengthy sentences which they're still serving. Gross has been jailed in Havana 21 months, while the Five have been locked up in the U.S. for almost a decade and a half.
In his public statement today Alarcón didn't argue the merits of the cases or raise issues of guilt or innocence. He simply said that "after 13 years the Five have the right to be reunited with their families."
I happen to agree entirely with Alarcón, and I proposed the same swap several weeks ago in an editorial. It's unlikely to happen, given Obama's concern over offending the large Cuban population in Florida and his need for their support in next year's election. But it should happen. Here's my op-ed: http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2011/08/alan-gross-y-los-cinco-de-miami/