Carter to end Cuba trip meeting with dissidents

HAVANA — Former President Jimmy Carter planned to meet with Cuban dissidents early Wednesday following two days of talks with President Raul Castro, other government officials and religious leaders in a trip he hopes will boost strained U.S.-Cuban relations.

Speculation about the three-day trip has focused on whether he will leave with imprisoned U.S. contractor Alan Gross, who was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of illegally importing communications equipment — though there has been no sign of a resolution to that dispute between Washington and Havana.

Members of Cuba's small dissident community, including internationally renowned blogger Yoani Sanchez and Oswaldo Paya, who sought a referendum on the communist government and guarantees of such rights as free speech and private business ownership, confirmed that they, among others, were invited to the breakfast meeting in historic Old Havana.

Carter was scheduled to give a news conference Wednesday afternoon before leaving the island.

Cuban opposition members have achieved certain fame overseas for their marches, hunger strikes and other activities to push for political and economic change. Visiting U.S. officials often meet with them, although it rankles the Cuban government.

They are not as well known on the island, however, and the government calls them mercenaries paid by Washington to undermine the government. Recently a U.S. diplomatic cable revealed by Wikileaks described the dissidents as riven by petty rivalries and hopelessly out of touch, with leaders too focused on funding their operations to mount a serious opposition.

Gross was arrested in December 2009 while working on a USAID-backed democracy-building project and convicted of crimes against state security earlier this month in a case that has blocked improved ties between the U.S. and Cuba.

Carter's visit came soon after the sentencing, and its sudden announcement sparked expectations that he might help facilitate Gross' release. Last August, the 39th U.S. president and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize traveled to North Korea to secure the release of an imprisoned American.

He said Tuesday that he discussed the Gross case with Cuban officials but was visiting to talk about strained ties.

"I am not here to take (Gross) out of the country," Carter said in Spanish.