Cuba urged to free US contractor

A senior US official says Cuba's continued detention of an American contractor is impeding moves by Washington to improve ties with the communist-ruled island.



Sixty-year-old Alan Gross is being held in Havana on suspicion of espionage and subversion.



According to US Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, Arturo Valenzuela, Cuba’s failure to release 60-year-Alan Gross, is preventing the move ahead on what might be more of a dialogue between the two countries.



The American, who worked for a Washington-area company contracted under a US-funded programme to promote democracy in Cuba, was arrested at Havana Airport in early December.



Cuban officials allege that he committed serious crimes by attempting to aid US efforts to destabilise the Cuban government.