By Jason Clingerman
Given the recent appearance of the development company Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) in the news regarding the case of Alan Gross, the development worker who was jailed in Cuba in 2009 accused of working for U.S. intelligence services, I thought it would be worthwhile to mention that records relating to development projects of DAI can be found at Archives II in Record Group 286, records of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The series “Subject and Project Files Relating to Development Alternatives, Inc. and Local Action Projects, 1970-1976” (ARC Identifier 6124370) contains documents that demonstrate involvement of DAI in development projects in numerous countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Given the alleged unique relationship of DAI with the U.S. government, researchers will find this series contains records that help explain the relationship of DAI with USAID in the 1970s.
Come to Archives II if you are interested in researching the development history of DAI.
And for those interested in the status of Alan Gross’ detainment in Cuba, the Reuters recently published an article detailing the Cuban government charges against Gross.
Note: While these records are unclassified, they may contain controlled unclassified information (CUI) such as personally identifiable information (PII) and are subject to screening on demand. Once requested, they will be screened by NARA staff before being made available.
How timely and interesting, Jason!