Rubio denounces U.S. shift on Cuba relations

The U.S. move toward normalizing relations with Cuba isn't sitting well with some American foes of the Cuban regime.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida says the U.S. and Cuba are moving toward normalized banking and trade ties, and that the U.S. is poised to open an embassy in Havana in the coming months. Rubio says, "This is going to do absolutely nothing to further human rights and democracy in Cuba." And he warns that it "potentially goes a long way in providing the economic lift that the Castro regime needs to become permanent fixtures in Cuba for generations to come."

The confidence-building measures being taken already by Washington and Havana include the release of American Alan Gross, who'd been detained in Cuba for five years after working to set up Internet access there. It was his fifth trip to Cuba to work with Jewish communities on setting up Internet access that bypassed local censorship.

His sister, Bonnie Rubinstein, says family members were "screaming and jumping up and down" after learning today that Gross has been released and is on a plane back to the United States.

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