Cuba frees U.S. prisoner after 5 years of captivity

Sources told The Associated Press that Alan Gross, an American citizen, was released from Cuban prison on Wednesday after five years in captivity.

Gross, a 65-year-old USAID contractor, was accused of bringing technology, including satellite phones, into Cuba without permission. He was convicted of espionage by a Cuban court in 2011 and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The Cuban government said Gross was part of a U.S. plot to overthrow its government, ABC News reports. Earlier this year, Gross vowed to go on a hunger strike until death if he wasn't released by the end of 2014.

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The agreement for Gross' release comes after a year of talks between Cuba and the United States, and America is in talks to open an embassy in Havana. The U.S. will also release three Cuban agents convicted of espionage in exchange for a U.S. intelligence agent, who was in Cuba for 20 years.