Us Accused Of Pressuring Latin America To Cut Ties With Cuban Doctors Program

Cuba’s overseas curate has accused nan United States of “extorting” Latin American countries by putting unit connected them to cancel decades-old deals pinch Havana for nan proviso of doctors.

Bruno Rodríguez said nan United States was trying to “strangle” nan system of nan communist island, which earns billions from its overseas aesculapian missions, aft respective countries stopped deploying Cuban doctors.

Washington says nan programme – a awesome root of pride, and income, successful Cuba since nan 1960s – amounts to forced labor.

The US stance connected nan doctors programme is portion of a run of maximum pressure connected nan Cuban authorities by Donald Trump.

Trump has made threats astir “taking” nan island aft ousting Venezuela’s leader and attacking Iran.

Countries seeking to support beardown ties to Washington person started to output to unit to propulsion retired of nan aesculapian partnerships.

Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, and Guyana person each terminated their agreements pinch Cuba, which is teetering connected nan separator of economical collapse, partially owed to a US power blockade.

“The US authorities is persecuting, pressuring, and extorting different governments to extremity nan beingness of Cuban Medical Brigades successful various countries, nether mendacious pretenses,” Rodríguez said connected X.

According to charismatic figures, astir 24,000 Cuban doctors and different healthcare professionals were deployed successful 56 countries successful 2025.

Most are sent to distant areas.

Half were deployed to Venezuela, Cuba’s apical state for a 4th of a period earlier president Nicolás Maduro was abducted by US forces successful January.

The program was projected to make $7bn successful net for nan cash-strapped land past year.

On Tuesday, nan Inter-American Commission connected Human Rights published a study denouncing superior quality authorities violations successful nan missions.

The study accused Cuba of withholding doctors’ wages, confiscating passports and threatening medics pinch up to 8 years successful situation if they defected from their jobs abroad.

In an question and reply pinch AFP, IACHR president Edgar Stuardo Ralón said immoderate of nan practices could beryllium classified arsenic “forced labor” and “human trafficking”.

According to charismatic Cuban statistic cited successful nan report, nan doctors person only betwixt 2.5% and 25% of what countries salary Cuba for their services.

Cuba has defended nan programme arsenic a measurement of “solidarity” pinch different countries, designed to bring wellness services to “hard-to-reach places”.