Cuban spy unrepentant, but hopes for better ties

{{A Cuban intelligence agent who spent 13 years in a U.S. prison said Monday he still has affection for America and hopes to see the two countries reconcile, but added that he does not regret for a moment his decision to spy for Cuba.}}

Rene Gonzalez also told The Associated Press he would welcome an exchange of prisoners that would send a jailed U.S. government subcontractor home in return for freedom for four other Cuban agents serving sentences in America.

Speaking soon after renouncing his U.S. citizenship, Gonzalez called on President Barack Obama to show “courage” in changing U.S. policy toward the Communist-run island.

“I would like to think that the North American government will meet the hopes of the whole world, which is telling it to change its policy toward Cuba,” Gonzalez said. “Courage is what President Obama needs now.”

The interview, conducted in the presence of his lawyer and a Cuban government representative, was Gonzalez’s first since U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard ruled Friday that he could remain on the Communist-run island in return for renouncing his U.S. citizenship.

Gonzalez had asked for permission to do so several times, but the U.S. government initially refused.

Lenard had earlier granted the 56-year-old leave to travel to Cuba to attend a memorial for his father, the second trip home he had been allowed to make since his release in 2011.

{AP}