A Cuban spy and his pregnant wife have revealed how they managed to sire a baby together while living practically a continent apart with the husband serving two life sentences in a U.S. federal prison.

The couple was barred from conjugal visits because Adriana Perez -- the wife of Cuban espionage convict Gerardo Hernandez -- worked for Cuba's spy agency.

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They revealed the pregnancy was the result of artificial insemination.

Reports said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) helped make the pregnancy happen as a condition to improve the living conditions of Alan Gross, an American jailed in Cuba who was freed last week. It was revealed on Tuesday that Leahy visited Cuba in February 2014 to help manage relations with the US.

The 42-year-old wife of Hernandez learned of the American senator's visit and she asked to meet with Leahy. She asked for help to bear a child with her husband who had been jailed since 2001.

Conjugal visits were out of the question but the senator found a way to get the Bureau of Prisons and the State Department to allow the artificial insemination in exchange for better conditions for Gross.

Hernandez's sperm was gathered and flown from the U.S. into Cuba, which paid for the service. The first try failed, but the wife became pregnant on the second attempt. The baby girl, who will be named Gema, is expected to be delivered next month.

Hernandez is one of the 'Five Heroes,' as they are called in the island nation, whose images are commonly seen in state media and billboards across the country.

He had been serving two consecutive life sentences after he was gound guilty of aiding Cuban authorities with information on the flight of two planes that Cuba shot down in 1996.

The aircraft were flown by Brothers to the Rescue, an exile group that helped migrants at sea and also spread propaganda leaflets.

Hernandez denied the charge, insisting the flight data was public knowledge.

TagsU.S.-Cuba