Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson arrived in Cuba on a private
trip to seek the release of American aid contractor Alan Gross, whose
jailing on charges of trying to set up Internet networks has frozen
US-Cuba ties.
The former New Mexico governor refused to comment when encountered by reporters at Havana's Hotel Nacional.
"I have nothing to say, I have no comment," said the casually dressed Richardson.
The 62-year-old Gross is in a Cuban prison serving a 15-year sentence
handed down earlier this year and upheld last month by the communist
island's highest court.
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said US officials were
aware of the trip and had been in contact with Richardson, a veteran
Democratic politician who has played diplomatic trouble-shooter for
Democratic administrations.