American imprisoned in Cuba appeals to Obama

An American man imprisoned in Cuba for four years is appealing to President Obama for help.

"It is clear to me, Mr. President, that only with your personal involvement can my release be secured," prisoner Alan Gross wrote in a letter made public.

"I know that your administration and prior administrations have taken extraordinary steps to obtain the release of other U.S. citizens imprisoned abroad — even citizens who were not arrested for their work on behalf of their country," Gross wrote to Obama.

"I ask that you also take action to secure my release, for my sake and for the sake of my family."

Gross, 64, a subcontractor with the U.S. Agency for International Development who was arrested while trying to set up an Internet network in the communist-run nation, said he fears the U.S. government has forgotten him.

"With the utmost respect, Mr. President, I fear that my government — the very government I was serving when I began this nightmare — has abandoned me," he wrote to Obama. "Officials in your administration have expressed sympathy and called for my unconditional release, and I very much appreciate that. But it has not brought me home."

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama and aides are working for Gross' release.

His imprisonment is "an impediment to more constructive relations with Cuba," Carney said.

Supporters of Gross demonstrated outside the White House gates on Tuesday, the fourth anniversary of his incarceration in Cuba.

From the Associated Press:

"Alan Gross was arrested four years ago Tuesday while working covertly in the communist-run country to set up Internet access for the island's small Jewish community, access that bypassed local restrictions. At the time, he was working as a subcontractor for the U.S. government's U.S. Agency for International Development, which works to promote democracy on the island.

"Cuba considers USAID's programs illegal attempts by the U.S. to undermine its government, and Gross was ultimately tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison. His case has become a sticking point in improving ties between the two countries, which have not had formal diplomatic relations since 1961."