Cuba Says US Lying About Jailed American's Health Cuba is accusing Washington of lying about the health and confinement conditions of a U.S. government subcontractor imprisoned on the island. The top Cuban diplomat for North American affairs says it's unrealistic to expect Cuba to free Maryland resident Alan Gross "unilaterally." Diplomat Josefina Vidal said Wednesday that Cuba has repeatedly made clear to U.S. officials it's willing to discuss a solution that takes into account the fate of five Cuban intelligence agents who are imprisoned in Florida. Vidal also dismisses Gross' complaint before a United Nations body that he is being held arbitrarily. Gross is three years into a 15-year sentence for crimes against the Cuban state in a case that has chilled already frosty relations between the two nations.