Alan Gross, an American aid worker who was imprisoned for five years in Cuba, has revealed that he did not try to disguise the actions that got him arrested.

Gross had gone to the communist country simply to set up Internet connections for the small Jewish community that lived on the island.

In a “60 Minutes” interview, Gross, a communications specialist who has worked in over 50 countries, said that the Cuban government was aware of what he was doing the whole time.

"They had every opportunity to stop me from bringing that equipment in, they knew what that equipment was and if they didn't, you know, shame on them," Gross told the show's host, Scott Pelley. 

Gross was accused of spying and was arrested in late 2009. He was then convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The 66-year-old was freed last December, after the U.S. and Cuba jointly announced efforts to normalize relations between their nations.

When the thaw was announced, Obama spoke of Gross as a kind of hero.

“Five years ago, [Gross] was arrested by Cuban authorities simply for helping ordinary Cubans, including Cuba’s small Jewish community, access information on the Internet,” he said.

According to The Huffington Post  Gross’s activities in Cuba were more than simply humanitarian. While working under contract for the U.S. Agency for International Development, Gross smuggled communications technology into Cuba. The smuggled material included laptops, smartphones, satellite phones and a mobile phone chip that makes it impossible to track the origin of a call.

The Washington Post assessed that, although Gross was not a spy, he was not completely innocent either. His activities in Cuba were at least semi-covert, and he did, in fact, make efforts to conceal them.

Gross suffered in his Cuban confines, losing five teeth to malnutrition and 100 pounds due to a hunger strike.

"It was ridiculous. I wasn't a spy. I wasn't a smuggler. I wasn't a criminal," he said.

After his release President Obama invited Gross and his wife to sit in the first lady's box during his State of the Union address. Obama commented on how sorry he was that it had taken so long to achieve Gross' release.

Gross responded to the President by saying, “Better late than never."