A five-decade struggle to retrieve the body of a controversial 'yanqui comandante' (Yankee commander) who was executed for plotting to overthrow Fidel Castro after helping put him in power could finally be near and end. With diplomatic relations softening between the US and Cuba, the family of William Morgan say things are 'looking good' to have his remains returned. 'My lawyer went to Rome and got a letter to Pope Francis, asking him to help, and it looks like the pope is going to do it,' Morgan's widow, Olga Goodwin, told reporters from her Ohio home. Scroll down for video . Olga Morgan, seen here with husband William with daughters Olgeta (left) and Loretta  (right) believes she might finally have her husband's remains returned from Cuba after five decades . Morgan met his wife Olga during the Cuban revolution, and can be seen here with his future wife in the country's mountains . The Miami Herald reports that Argentine-born Pope Francis was instrumental with helping kick off negotiations to normalize relations between the two countries. Gerardo Rollison, Goodwin's attorney, declined to talk details but agreed a deal seemed possible. 'But I will say that I’m more optimistic now than I’ve been ever been that we’re going to get this done,' he said. Families in Miami have also been trying to get back the bodies of loved ones killed in 1961's Bay of Pigs invasion. Many are skeptical about the possibility of success. 'My mother tried for a long time to get my father’s body returned, but the Cuban government wasn’t cooperating and the Red Cross couldn’t do anything,' Maria Maria Werlau, executive director of the Cuba Archive, told reporters. Her father, Armando Cañizares, died at the Bay of Pigs. Few, such as the daughter of an American bomber pilot for the CIA, have succeeded. Morgan was popular among U.S. reporters as he was one of the few U.S. citizens who had attained a significant rank in the revolution . 'The Castros have kept it a big secret where the bodies were buried, or even if they were buried at all,” said Janet Ray, who spent a decade sending letters to Castro before finally getting the remains of her father, Pete, back home. 'It’s a very emotional thing.' One Miami Herald reporter, Bonnie Anderson, even wrote a heartfelt story about how she was banned from seeing her father Howard's grave for almost two decades. Howard Anderson had been executed in 1962 after being accused of being a U.S. spy. 'It was just an empty hole in the ground,” Bonnie Anderson said of the grave. 'The caretaker, who I had met on my first visit, told me that after my story ran, somebody from the government ordered him to dig up the body and throw it away.' Morgan was a staunch supporter of Castro insisting to news media that the revolutionary was not a communist . In the case of Wiliam Morgan, he once helped lead rebel troops in the anti-Barista forces. As one of the few Americans to have a high rank among the rebels he was well known to U.S. media and told reporters Castro was not a communist, his activities prompting the U.S. goverment to revoke his citizenship. Castro went so far as to call him 'the kind of North American that Cuba needs.' While there, Morgan married another guerrilla, Olga Rodriguez. But there were hints he for his safety. As the Herald noted: 'If something happens to me,' he once told Look magazine, 'then you know the commies have really taken over.' Morgan eventually decided the communists were running things, but too late. Castro executed him in early 1961. Olga finally fled Cuba while his mothr, Loretta, began campaigning for his body's return. Morgan was arrested after turning on Castro and subsequently executed in 1961 . With Obama in office, Rollison was finally able to obtain a travel permit. 'From congresspersons to senators to people in the Treasury and State Departments, our efforts have gotten a friendly hearing, and those efforts are still going on,' Rollison said, adding that 'within the confines of existing laws, there is a mechanism that would allow the repatriation of William Morgan’s remains.' Rollison believes return of the remains 'would be one more step in the resolution of humanitarian issues between Cuba and the United States.'
With diplomatic relations softening between the US and Cuba, the family of William Morgan say things are 'looking good' to have his remains returned .
Morgan was a controversial 'yanqui comandante' who helped Castro rise to power but was later arrested and executed by the regime after saying that the communists had taken over .
Deal would give hope to Miami families who've been trying to get access to relatives killed during Bay of Pigs .
A five-decade struggle to retrieve the body of a controversial 'yanqui comandante' (Yankee commander) who was executed for plotting to overthrow Fidel Castro after helping put him in power could finally be near and end. With diplomatic relations softening between the US and Cuba, the family of William Morgan say things are 'looking good' to have his remains returned. 'My lawyer went to Rome and got a letter to Pope Francis, asking him to help, and it looks like the pope is going to do it,' Morgan's widow, Olga Goodwin, told reporters from her Ohio home. Scroll down for video . Olga Morgan, seen here with husband William with daughters Olgeta (left) and Loretta  (right) believes she might finally have her husband's remains returned from Cuba after five decades . Morgan met his wife Olga during the Cuban revolution, and can be seen here with his future wife in the country's mountains . The Miami Herald reports that Argentine-born Pope Francis was instrumental with helping kick off negotiations to normalize relations between the two countries. Gerardo Rollison, Goodwin's attorney, declined to talk details but agreed a deal seemed possible. 'But I will say that I’m more optimistic now than I’ve been ever been that we’re going to get this done,' he said. Families in Miami have also been trying to get back the bodies of loved ones killed in 1961's Bay of Pigs invasion. Many are skeptical about the possibility of success. 'My mother tried for a long time to get my father’s body returned, but the Cuban government wasn’t cooperating and the Red Cross couldn’t do anything,' Maria Maria Werlau, executive director of the Cuba Archive, told reporters. Her father, Armando Cañizares, died at the Bay of Pigs. Few, such as the daughter of an American bomber pilot for the CIA, have succeeded. Morgan was popular among U.S. reporters as he was one of the few U.S. citizens who had attained a significant rank in the revolution . 'The Castros have kept it a big secret where the bodies were buried, or even if they were buried at all,” said Janet Ray, who spent a decade sending letters to Castro before finally getting the remains of her father, Pete, back home. 'It’s a very emotional thing.' One Miami Herald reporter, Bonnie Anderson, even wrote a heartfelt story about how she was banned from seeing her father Howard's grave for almost two decades. Howard Anderson had been executed in 1962 after being accused of being a U.S. spy. 'It was just an empty hole in the ground,” Bonnie Anderson said of the grave. 'The caretaker, who I had met on my first visit, told me that after my story ran, somebody from the government ordered him to dig up the body and throw it away.' Morgan was a staunch supporter of Castro insisting to news media that the revolutionary was not a communist . In the case of Wiliam Morgan, he once helped lead rebel troops in the anti-Barista forces. As one of the few Americans to have a high rank among the rebels he was well known to U.S. media and told reporters Castro was not a communist, his activities prompting the U.S. goverment to revoke his citizenship. Castro went so far as to call him 'the kind of North American that Cuba needs.' While there, Morgan married another guerrilla, Olga Rodriguez. But there were hints he for his safety. As the Herald noted: 'If something happens to me,' he once told Look magazine, 'then you know the commies have really taken over.' Morgan eventually decided the communists were running things, but too late. Castro executed him in early 1961. Olga finally fled Cuba while his mothr, Loretta, began campaigning for his body's return. Morgan was arrested after turning on Castro and subsequently executed in 1961 . With Obama in office, Rollison was finally able to obtain a travel permit. 'From congresspersons to senators to people in the Treasury and State Departments, our efforts have gotten a friendly hearing, and those efforts are still going on,' Rollison said, adding that 'within the confines of existing laws, there is a mechanism that would allow the repatriation of William Morgan’s remains.' Rollison believes return of the remains 'would be one more step in the resolution of humanitarian issues between Cuba and the United States.'
controversial 'yanqui comandante' (Yankee diplomatic relations softening between the US and Cuba, the family of William Morgan say things are 'looking good' to have his remains returned. 'My in Miami have also been trying to get back the bodies of loved ones killed in 1961's Bay of Pigs was a staunch supporter of Castro insisting to taken over.' Morgan eventually decided the