Caribbean leaders have hit again at a menace issued by the USA authorities to cancel visas for anybody working with or supporting Cuban medical amenities, citing allegations of pressured labour and claiming these missions “enrich the Cuban regime”.
Cuban medical missions, which give docs, nurses and different medical workers in addition to medical amenities, are important to healthcare methods within the Caribbean.
So how have Caribbean nations responded to this menace and what wouldn’t it imply for healthcare there?
Why is the US authorities taking purpose at Cuba’s medical programme?
The concentrating on of Cuban medical missions isn’t new for US President Donald Trump’s administration. Throughout his first time period as president of the US from 2017 to 2021, his administration imposed visa sanctions on Cuba’s world medical programme. His authorities claimed these missions amounted to “human trafficking” as a result of, it stated, Cuban docs are reportedly underpaid.
This time round, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has introduced restrictions on visas for presidency officers in Cuba and anybody else, globally, that the US deems to be “complicit” with Cuba’s international medical programmes. The State Division stated the restrictions would prolong to “present and former officers” in addition to the “quick household of such individuals”.
Rubio referred to as the Cuban medical programme a type of “pressured labour” and the federal government has warned that Caribbean nations taking part in these programmes might face visa restrictions in addition to potential commerce repercussions.
Nevertheless, no concrete proof has been supplied to help these claims.
America is increasing its Cuba-related visa restriction coverage. @StateDept has taken steps to limit visa issuance to Cuban and complicit third-country authorities officers and people answerable for Cuba’s exploitative labor export program. We’ll promote…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) February 25, 2025
The US alleges that Cuba’s authorities exploits its medical professionals by retaining a big portion of their wages and proscribing their freedoms. Whereas some Cuban docs have defected and criticised the situations of the programme, many others say they willingly take part.
Tamarys Bahamonde, an economist on the US-based Middle for Latin American and Latino Research, stated this problem is “complicated” and will centre the voices of the docs themselves.
“No matter whether or not Cuban docs qualify as pressured labour, we do know that they don’t negotiate their very own contracts or working situations,” she stated.
“Cuba retains a good portion of their salaries, and there are testimonies from docs confirming restrictions on motion, confiscation of passports by Cuban authorities in host international locations, and limitations on bringing their households alongside.”
On the identical time, Bahamonde reiterated the essential function that Cuban medical professionals play, particularly in relation to offering healthcare companies to underserved communities.
“Throughout my time working for a international embassy in Havana, I noticed firsthand how grateful many international locations are for Cuban docs and the advantages they carry to remoted areas – locations that beforehand had little to no medical entry,” she stated.
Can Trump’s administration legally do that?
Legally, Trump has broad authority over visa coverage by way of the State Division. The US authorities can impose restrictions with no need approval from Congress by citing nationwide safety or international coverage issues.
Affected nations can push again by way of diplomatic or authorized channels, however Bahamonde identified that the US concentrating on of Cuban medical missions isn’t unique to the Trump administration.
“The proposed visa restriction is definitely an enlargement of a coverage initiated by the Biden administration. In 2024, President Biden signed a spending invoice that included sanctions towards officers from third international locations that contracted Cuba’s medical companies,” Bahamonde informed Al Jazeera.
“That very same 12 months, his administration additionally accused Cuba of cashing in on its medical professionals.”
She added that opposition to Cuban medical missions is “bipartisan”, citing a 2024 decision led by Republican Congressman Mark Inexperienced, calling for visa revocations towards international locations hiring Cuban docs.
“The sentiment concerning Cuban medical missions is pretty constant throughout celebration strains. Whether or not or not President Trump has unilateral authority to impose these visa restrictions, I wouldn’t count on important resistance to them,” she stated.
This implies that, no matter who’s in energy, Caribbean nations will doubtless proceed to face diplomatic strain over their reliance on Cuban medical professionals, she stated.
How have Caribbean leaders responded?
Some Caribbean leaders have declared they are going to quit their proper to US visas if it means retaining Cuban medical missions.
This week, Barbados’s Prime Minister Mia Mottley gave a fiery deal with to parliament, calling the US stance “unfair and unjustified”.
“We couldn’t get by way of the pandemic with out the Cuban nurses and the Cuban docs,” she stated.
Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister, Keith Rowley, warned that US interference in Caribbean healthcare selections was unacceptable.
“Out of the blue now, now we have been referred to as human traffickers as a result of we rent technical individuals who we pay prime greenback,” Rowley stated, including that he was ready to lose his US visa.
Equally, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves highlighted the direct impact Cuban docs have on affected person care.
“If the Cubans aren’t there, we could not be capable of run the service,” he stated. “I’ll choose to lose my visa than to have 60 poor and dealing individuals die.”
And final week, Jamaican International Minister Kamina Johnson Smith informed reporters her authorities views Cuban medics as very important.
“Their presence right here is of significance to our healthcare system,” she stated. There are 400 Cuban docs, nurses and medical technicians presently working within the nation.
In a submit on X, Bahamian International Minister Fred Mitchell vouched for the Cuban programme, saying his authorities “follows all worldwide finest practices within the recruitment of labour”.
Hugh Todd, Guyana’s international minister, informed the AP information service on Tuesday that 15 international ministers from the Caribbean Neighborhood (CARICOM) had met with Mauricio Claver-Carone, US particular envoy for Latin America, in Washington, DC, to voice their opposition and demand readability on US coverage.
“The US is a strategic companion to CARICOM, however this essential problem must be handled on the stage of heads of presidency,” he stated.
Why are Cuban medical missions important to Caribbean healthcare, and what occurs if they’re minimize?
Cuba has greater than 24,000 docs working in 56 international locations worldwide, with the missions significantly boosting healthcare throughout the Caribbean, particularly in impoverished nations dealing with deep financial crises and with restricted medical companies.
“The influence on Caribbean nations will rely upon how important Cuban docs are to their healthcare methods and the way troublesome they might be to interchange within the quick time period with out considerably affecting the communities that depend on them,” Bahamonde stated.
For a lot of Caribbean nations, the short-term penalties may very well be devastating. Coaching native docs takes years, and skilled professionals usually migrate to different international locations, forsaking a persistent scarcity.
Cuba helps fill this hole by sending 1000’s of medical personnel which are way more reasonably priced to locals than non-public healthcare choices, Bahamonde defined. These missions present main care, emergency response groups and specialists in fields which are usually underrepresented in Caribbean hospitals.
They’ve additionally performed a distinguished function in relation to responding to regional disasters, akin to hurricanes, earthquakes and public well being emergencies. Cuban docs have been instrumental in combating the cholera outbreak in Haiti following a devastating earthquake in 2010, and in helping Caribbean nations in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Which different international locations depend on Cuban medical missions?
Cuba doesn’t simply ship docs to the Caribbean; it has medical missions all around the world. Some key examples embrace:
- Venezuela is likely one of the largest recipients of Cuban docs, with 1000’s working in group clinics.
- Brazil had a significant Cuban medical programme till 2018, when Cuba recalled 8,000 docs on account of a diplomatic dispute.
- Italy acquired Cuban docs in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic to assist overwhelmed hospitals in a few of its hardest-hit areas.
- South Africa hosts Cuban medical professionals in rural areas the place there are physician shortages.
