Alan Gross

Alan Phillip Gross (born May 2, 1949) is a United States government contractor employed by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In December 2009 he was arrested in Cuba while working on a program funded under the 1996 Helms-Burton Act. He was prosecuted in 2011 after being accused of crimes against the Cuban state for bringing satellite phones and computer equipment (to members of Cuba’s Jewish community) without the permit required under Cuban law. After being accused of working for American intelligence services in January 2010, he was ultimately convicted for “acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the state" in March 2011. He was released from Cuban prison on December 17, 2014.

Life and career

Gross was born in New York to a Jewish family and later moved to Maryland. He studied sociology at the University of Maryland and social work at Virginia Commonwealth University. He had a long career as an international development worker who had been active in some 50 countries and territories across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, including Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was setting up satellite communications systems to NGOs.

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Cuba

Coordinates: 21°30′N 80°00′W / 21.500°N 80.000°W / 21.500; -80.000

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba (Spanish:  República de Cuba ), is a country comprising the islands of Cuba, Isla de la Juventud and several archipelagos in the Caribbean Sea. The capital and largest city Havana is 365 km (227 mi) from Miami, Florida. Geographically, Cuba is considered part of North America. Culturally, it is considered part of Latin America.

Prior to Spanish colonization in the late 15th century, Cuba was inhabited by Amerindian tribes. It remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, which led to nominal independence as a de facto U.S. protectorate in 1902. As a fragile republic, Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting political radicalization and social strife culminated in the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Further unrest and instability led to Batista's ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, which afterwards established a government under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Since 1965, the country has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba.

Wolf Blitzer

Wolf Isaac Blitzer (born March 22, 1948) is an American journalist and television news anchor, who has been a CNN reporter since 1990. He is the host of The Situation Room and the daytime show Wolf. Blitzer also serves as the network's lead political anchor.

Early life

Blitzer was born in Augsburg, Germany, the son of Cesia Blitzer (née Zylberfuden), a homemaker, and David Blitzer, a home builder. His parents were Jewish refugees from Oświęcim, Poland, and Holocaust survivors. He was raised in Buffalo, New York. Blitzer graduated from Kenmore West Senior High School and received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1970. While there, he was a brother of Alpha Epsilon Pi. In 1972, he received a Master of Arts in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. While at Johns Hopkins, Blitzer studied abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he learned Hebrew.

Name

Blitzer has said that he has frequently been asked about his name, which has been characterized as seemingly made-for-TV. Blitzer explains that his surname goes back for generations, and his first name, 'Wolf', is the same first name as his maternal grandfather.