Cuba: US 'lying' about health of jailed American contractor

[NewsCaster]

Roberto León / NBC NewsJosefina Vidal, Cuba's director of U.S. Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, addresses the media in Havana on Wednesday.By Mary Murray and Mike BrunkerNBC NewsHAVANA -- A Cuban official on Wednesday accused the U.S. government of “lying” about the health of Alan Gross, an American contractor serving a 15-year prison sentence here, in an effort to force his release.

Denying speculation that the 63-year-old Gross has cancer or is otherwise in poor health, Foreign Ministry official Josefina Vidal said at a press conference in the Cuban capital that the 63-year-old American has "been treated decently and well in prison.”

She also stated that “his health has "not deteriorated" and that he "speaks regularly with friends and family."




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