THEWALLSTREEJOURNAL: “No Détente in U.S.-Cuba Relations”, por Nicholas Casey (Inglés)

More than two years after a U.S. government contractor was thrown in jail by Cuba's Communist government, his plight is helping to ensure Washington's relationship with Havana stays frozen in Cold War ice.
Alan Gross, 62 years old, was arrested in December 2009 after Cuban officials discovered he was setting up Internet equipment without government permission—a crime in Cuba—as part of a pro-democracy program run by the U.S. Agency for International Development. In March 2011, a Cuban court sentenced him to 15 years.
The case has stymied plans by the Obama administration to improve relations between the two countries and seems likely to be used as political football in a U.S. election year.
Sen. Dick Durbin's office said Wednesday that the Illinois Democrat had made an unannounced trip to Havana where he "pressed the Cuban government to release" Mr. Gross—a rare visit by such a high-ranking American official.Republican lawmakers in South Florida plan to use the case to call for more sanctions on the island, saying President Barack Obama's outreach, which has included steps like allowing more postal service and remittances to flow to the island, was a mistake and should be rolled back.