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PABLOMARTINEZMONSIVAIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Alan Gross and his wife, Judy, leave a er his statement at his lawyer's office in Washington on Wednesday. Gross was released from Cuba a er five years in prison. ByJessicaGresko TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON Alan Gross emerged Wednesday from five years of captivity in Cuba praising the Cuban people and offering a lesson he said he learned: Free- dom is not free. In his first public re- marks after arriving in the U.S., Gross also spoke supportively of President Barack Obama's move to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba after more than a half-century of discord. He said that more than five decades of history had shown that the previous U.S. approach to its old foe wasn't effective. "Two wrongs never make a right," Gross said. "I truly hope that we can now get beyond these mutually bel- ligerent policies." Appearing in decent health and walking with- out support, Gross spoke to reporters at a Washing- ton law office shortly after a U.S. plane flew him from Cuba back to the U.S. De- spite his harrowing experi- ence, Gross said he had the utmost respect for the Cu- ban people and said he was pained "to see them treated so unjustly." "In no way are they re- sponsible for the ordeal to which my family and I have been subjected," Gross said, describing the vast major- ity of Cubans as "incredi- bly kind, generous and tal- ented." Gross, 65, was freed from prison Wednesday as part of an agreement that in- cluded the release of three Cubans jailed in the United States, officials said. His wife, Judy Gross, has called him a humanitarian and an idealist, someone who was "probably naïve" and did not realize the risks ofgoingtoCubaasasubcon- tractor for the federal gov- ernment's U.S. Agency for International Development. In his brief appearance, Gross praised the U.S. of- ficials, lawmakers, family members and community members who helped secure his release and advocated for him over the past half- decade. Knowing he wasn't forgotten at home was cru- cial to his survival, he said. AlanGrosssays freedom is not free FIVE YEARS IN PRISON The Associated Press NEW YORK Cuba was once a haven for sun-seeking American tourists. Beau- tiful beaches, lively casi- nos and late-night danc- ing made it the perfect get- away, only an hour's flight from Miami. President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday of plans to re- establish diplomatic ties with the Caribbean nation doesn't mean that the is- land will suddenly open for tourism. It does, however, give hope to airlines, hotel chains and cruise compa- nies — all which have been quietly eyeing a removal of the travel ban — that they soon will be able to bring tourists to Cuba. "Cuba is the largest coun- try in the Caribbean, so there's some exciting pos- sibilities," Roger Frizzell, spokesman for Carnival Corp., said. "Some infra- structure for cruising al- ready exists in the country, along with several ports, so it offers great potential, but there are other issues that will need to be taken into consideration if this market opens up." HOUR FROM MIAMI Travel industry carefully looking at Cuba tourism By Julie Pace and Matthew Lee The Associated Press WASHINGTON After a half-century of Cold War acrimony, the United States and Cuba moved on Wednesday to restore dip- lomatic relations — a his- toric shift that could re- vitalize the flow of money and people across the nar- row waters that separate the two nations. President Barack Obama's dramatic an- nouncement in Washing- ton — seconded by Cuban President Raul Castro in Havana — was accompa- nied by a quiet exchange of imprisoned spies and the celebratory release of American Alan Gross, a government contract worker who had been held in Cuba for five years. The shift in U.S.-Cuba policy was the culmina- tion of 18 months of secret talks between the longtime foes that included a series of meetings in Canada and the personal involvement of Pope Francis at the Vat- ican. It also marked an ex- traordinary undertaking by Obama without Con- gress' authorization as he charts the waning years of his presidency. "These 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked," Obama de- clared at the White House. "It's time for a new ap- proach." Obama spoke as Castro was addressing his nation in Havana, where church bells rang and school teach- ers paused lessons to mark the news. Castro said that while the U.S. and Cuba re- main at odds on many mat- ters, "we should learn the art of living together in a civilized manner in spite of our differences." Obama's plans for re- making U.S. relations with Cuba are sweeping: He aims to expand economic ties, open an embassy in Havana, send high-ranking U.S. officials including Sec- retary of State John Kerry to visit and review Cuba's designation as a state spon- sor of terrorism. The U.S. also is easing restrictions on travel to Cuba, includ- ing for family visits, offi- cial government business and educational activities. But tourist travel remains banned. Obama and Castro spoke by telephone Tues- day for nearly an hour, the first presidential-level call between their nations' leaders since the 1959 Cu- ban revolution and the ap- proval of a U.S. economic embargo on the commu- nist island that sits just 90 miles off coast of Flor- ida. The two men are also expected to meet at a re- gional summit in Panama next spring. Obama did not rule out traveling to Cuba before his presidency ends, tell- ing ABC News: "I don't have any current plans to visit Cuba, but let's see how things evolve." Despite Obama's decla- ration, the Cuba embargo was passed by Congress, and only lawmakers can revoke it. That appears un- likely to happen soon given the largely negative re- sponse to Obama's actions from Republicans who will take full control of Capitol Hill in January. "Relations with the Cas- tro regime should not be re- visited, let alone normal- ized, until the Cuban peo- ple enjoy freedom — and not one second sooner," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "There is no 'new course' here, only another in a long line of mindless concessions to a dictatorship that brutal- izes its people and schemes with our enemies." The response from around the world was far more welcoming, partic- ularly in Latin America, where the U.S. policy to- ward Cuba has been de- spised. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called Obama's action "a ges- ture that was courageous and historically neces- sary." The Vatican said Pope Francis "welcomed the his- toric decision taken by the governments of the United States of America and Cuba to establish diplomatic re- lations, with the aim of overcoming, in the inter- est of the citizens of both countries, the difficulties which have marked their recent history." In Cuba, a sense of eu- phoria spread through Ha- vana as people gathered around televisions to watch the Obama and Castro an- nouncements. "For the Cuban people, I think this is like a shot of oxygen, a wish come true, because with this, we have overcome our differ- ences," said Carlos Gonza- lez, a 32-year-old informa- tion technology specialist. Half a century ago, the U.S. recognized Fidel Castro's new government soon after his rebels took power from dictator Ful- gencio Batista. But before long things began to sour as Cuba deepened its re- lationship with the So- viet Union. In 1961 the U.S. broke diplomatic re- lations, and then came the failed U.S.-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion meant to topple Castro. A year later a U.S. blockade forced re- moval of Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba in a standoff that brought the world to the brink of nu- clear war. Since then, the number of Americans who see Cuba as a serious threat has de- clined. A 1983 CNN/Time poll found 29 percent con- sidered Cuba a very seri- ous threat. That dipped to 13 percent in 1994 and 12 percent in 1997. Under the changes an- nounced Wednesday, li- censed American travelers to Cuba will be able to re- turn to the U.S. with $400 in Cuban goods, including tobacco and alcohol prod- ucts worth less than $100 combined. This means the long-standing ban on im- porting Cuban cigars is over, although there are still limits. OBAMA'S ANNOUNCEMENT US , Cu ba p at ch r el at io ns a er more than 50 years RAMON ESPINOSA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Students and teachers celebrate Wednesday a er listening to a live, nationally broadcast speech by Cuba's President Raul Castro about the country's restoration of relations with the United States, at a school in Havana, Cuba. C & C PROPERTIES AnIndependentlyownedandoperatedMemberof Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates. 741 Main Street, Suite #2 Red Bluff, CA 96080 1-800-287-2187 (530) 527-2187 FOR24/7PROPERTYINFOCALL1-888-902-7253 TEHAMA COUNTY REAL ESTATE TEAM • OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK www.redbluffcoldwellbanker.com See All Tehama County Listings at Our knowledgeable and professional staff of Realtors are here to assist you with all your Real Estate needs. *18 Months to 3 Years for Short Sales / 4 – 7 Years for Foreclosures. Ifyouwereinvolved in a Foreclosure or Short Sale between 2007 – 2012, YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR HOME OWNERSHIP AGAIN. 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