January 7, 2010 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department on Thursday denied a senior Cuban official’s claim that a U.S. government contractor detained on the communist island is a spy.

The man - not identified by either government - was detained on Dec. 4 as he attempted to board a plane leaving Cuba, but Cuban officials did not grant him access to consular officials from the U.S. Interests Section — which Washington maintains in Cuba instead of an embassy — until Dec. 28. He was arrested on suspicion of handing out communications equipment to opposition groups.

The State Department has said that the man was working as a subcontractor for the Maryland-based economic development organization Development Alternatives Inc., and the company’s president has said he was part of a USAID program intended to ‘’strengthen civil society in support of just and democratic governance in Cuba.”

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