After 5 years in a Cuban prison, American Alan Gross is now free.

President Barack Obama's administration had secured Gross's release as part of a sweeping deal to thaw the decades-old diplomatic freeze with Cuba.

Gross was an American government contractor when he was sentenced to 15 years in a Cuban prison, charged with spying.

In exchange for Gross, the U.S. returned 3 Cuban spies imprisoned since 2001. The deal also included the return of a U.S. intelligence agent imprisoned in Cuba for nearly 20 years. Cuba also agreed to release 53 Cubans identified as political prisoners.

This deal to free Gross was negotiated in secret over the past 18 months. But was it a good or bad deal?

CNN's Erin Burnett has more.