Jailed U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contractor Alan Gross, (R), poses for a picture during a visit with Cuban Jewish Community leader Adela Dworin, (C), and David Prinstein, Vice President, at Havana's Carlos J Finlay Military Hospital September 28,... 
 
 Judy Gross, wife of U.S. aid contractor Alan Gross, talks to Reuters during an interview in Havana June 25, 2014. 
 
 HAVANA U.S. foreign aid worker Alan Gross completed his fifth year in a Cuban prison on Wednesday with his wife warning he is in terrible condition, while any hopes for improving hostile U.S.-Cuban relations hinge largely on his fate. 
 
 "I am afraid that we are at the end. After five years of literally wasting away, Alan is done," his wife, Judy Gross, said in a statement that described him as gaunt, hobbling and missing five teeth. 
 
 Cuba arrested Gross, now 65, on Dec. 3, 2009, and later convicted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) subcontractor to 15 years in prison for importing banned technology and trying to establish clandestine internet service for Cuban Jews. 
 
 The case is emblematic of bitter U.S.-Cuban relations dating to the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, and any potential breakthrough appears remote while Gross is still in prison. 
 
 "The Cuban government’s release of Alan on humanitarian grounds would remove an impediment to more constructive relations between the United States and Cuba," the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Wednesday. 
 
 The United States has rejected offers to discuss swapping Gross for three Cuban intelligence agents serving prisons terms in the United States, saying it would be wrong to equate Gross with Cuban spies. Havana labels the three as anti-terrorist heroes who defended Cuba by helping infiltrate anti-Castro extremist groups in Florida. 
 
 Obama has the authority to conduct a prisoner swap and rewrite U.S. policy on Cuba. Although he said "we have to continue to update our policies" on Cuba over a year ago, he has yet to signal change. 
 
 Gross' wife is urging Obama to take action. 
 
 "It is time for President Obama to bring Alan back to the United States now; otherwise it will be too late," she said. 
 
 Gross' mental and physical health has declined, he can barely walk or see out of his right eye, and he has grown increasingly suicidal while losing some 100 pounds (46 kg), according to his lawyer, Scott Gilbert. 
 
 In April he went on a 9-day hunger strike. After his 65th birthday last May, Gross vowed not to turn 66 in prison, telling visitors he would rather die. He said goodbye to his wife and daughter in July and has refused to see them or U.S. diplomats in Havana, Gilbert said. 
 
 (Reporting by Daniel Trotta Editing by W Simon) 

 Today is the 5th anniversary of U.S. government contractor Alan Gross's arrest for espionage in Cuba, and ABC news has learned exclusive details about the 65-year-old’s frail physical condition and his even worse mental situation. 
 
 Last spring it was reported that Gross had lost more than 100 pounds, but today sources who have visited with Gross in the last week told ABC News his health has vastly deteriorated. He has lost all but one of his front teeth, can barely walk because of hip damage, and is blind in one eye. 
 
 Gross is no longer accepting visits or food from the U.S. Interest Section in Havana and refuses medical or dental care from the Cuban military hospital where he is being held. Because of mobility issues stemming from his deteriorating health, he stays in his room at the military hospital 24 hours a day. He is kept in a 10 by 20 foot dorm room with 2 other prisoners who speak no English. 
 
 Gross has threatened to begin a hunger strike this month if he is not released soon and vows not to spend one more year in captivity—even if it means he dies of hunger. 
 
 In a statement released this morning to mark the anniversary Wednesday, Gross’s wife Judy says: “Enough is enough. My husband has paid a terrible price for serving his country and community.” 
 
 “Alan is resolved that he will not endure another year imprisoned in Cuba, and I am afraid that we are at the end. After five years of literally wasting away, Alan is done. It is time for President Obama to bring Alan back to the United States now; otherwise it will be too late.” 
 
 Gross was sentenced to 15 years in 2011 for bringing telecommunication devices into Cuba while working as a subcontractor for USAID. The Cuban government accused him of being party to a U.S.-led plot to overthrow the government through an “Arab spring.” 
 
 White House sources tell ABC news the National Security Council and president are aware of Gross’s condition and are working on a solution. 
 
 In a statement released today, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said "we remain deeply concerned for Alan’s health, and reiterate our call for his release." 
 
 "The Cuban Government’s release of Alan on humanitarian grounds would remove an impediment to more constructive relations between the United States and Cuba." 
 
 Cuban officials tell ABC News they are equally concerned about Gross’ deteriorating health but that he has continued to refuse all medical care. 
 
 The Cuban government has long equated Gross’s arrest with those of five Cuban spies arrested in Miami for spying on anti-Castro groups and has proposed a “humanitarian release” involving prisoners of both sides.
– As of today, American Alan Gross has been in a Cuban prison for five years, Reuters reports, and his wife is calling on President Obama to bring him back before it's "too late." "I am afraid that we are at the end," says Judy Gross. "After five years of literally wasting away, Alan is done," though he's far from done with his 15-year sentence. She says her husband has lost more than 100 pounds—as well as five teeth—over that period, and he's now hobbling and blind in one eye. His lawyer says Gross is more and more suicidal and said his goodbyes to his wife and daughter in July. Gross, who turned 65 in May, said he would rather die than turn 66 in prison. He's been refusing medical care and threatening a hunger strike, ABC News reports. He was arrested Dec. 3, 2009, while working for USAID as a subcontractor and sentenced for bringing telecommunications gear into the country. US officials have turned down one potential avenue to freedom: a prisoner exchange involving three Cuban agents. They say Gross shouldn't be compared to spies, Reuters notes. But the White House, which has said that the detention is "hurting the relationship between the United States and Cuba," tells ABC it's working on securing his release.