Concerns grow as US threatens visa sanctions over Cuban doctors 

Feb 28, 2025 News

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…Jagdeo says Caricom seeking meeting with Trump for him to soften approach

Kaieteur News- The Government of Guyana said that it will be working through Caricom to get the United States to soften its plans to sanction countries that benefit from Cuba’s medical programme.

The United States on Tuesday expanded visa restrictions over Cuba’s dispatch of doctors overseas, a programme Havana sees as a source of influence and revenue but which has long faced accusations of exploitation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American and vociferous foe of the communist government in Havana, said the United States will now also bar visas to foreign government officials who assist the programme. Cuba has been sending scores of doctors here over a number of years and also hundreds of Guyanese doctors and other professional have benefitted from scholarships to study in that country.

On Tuesday Rubio said that the United States was immediately imposing visa restrictions under the expanded policy on several people from Cuba’s ally Venezuela and that immediate family members of sanctioned officials would also be affected. “Cuba continues to profit from the forced labor of its workers and the regime’s abusive and coercive labor practices are well documented,” Rubio said. “Cuba’s labor export programs, which include the medical missions, enrich the Cuban regime, and in the case of Cuba’s overseas medical missions, deprive ordinary Cubans of the medical care they desperately need in their home country,” he said in a statement.

Cuba, which frequently highlights its universal health care system, has sent doctors around the world since the 1960s as it promotes itself in developing nations. The programme has become a major source of needed cash, particularly after the Soviet Union’s collapse deprived Cuba of a major benefactor.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said that Rubio’s decision was “based on lies” and will “affect health services for millions of people in Cuba and around the world.” “Once again, Marco Rubio is placing his personal interests above those of the United States,” he wrote on social media platform X.

According to Cuban official figures, Cuba sent 22,632 medical professionals to 57 countries in 2023, with Cuba earning $6.3 billion in 2018 and $3.9 billion in 2020, in part in the form of oil from Venezuela. Critics characterize the program as forced labor, and the United States under former president George W. Bush launched a program to encourage Cuban doctors overseas to defect. Human Rights Watch has said that the Cuban doctors are deprived of fundamental freedoms as they live under draconian rules overseas. Since returning to office last month, President Donald Trump has swiftly sought to ramp up pressure on Cuba. He reversed a decision by his predecessor Joe Biden to take Cuba off a list of state sponsors of terrorism. The Biden administration agreed to lift the designation, which has severe effects on investment, in return for Cuba’s release of political prisoners.

Meanwhile, addressing the issue at his weekly news conference on Thursday Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Guyana will be a part of the CARICOM mission to engage the Donald Trump’s administration on the threats to impose visa sanctions on the leaders and their families of countries who are beneficiaries of the Cuban labour export programme, including the medical missions. He was asked to comment specifically on whether Guyana will stop taking members of the Cuban Medical Brigade in light of these threats by the United States. Jagdeo told the media that the government has carefully examined the statement that was released by the US concerning the Cuban Medical Brigade in countries and the potential sanctions against the said countries for collaborating with Cuba.

He reasoned, “Now you know that this, the Cuban presence, a medical presence in the Caribbean, has been there for a very, very long time and has transcended several US administrations. The Cuban medical presence in the region has had some positive impact on health care delivery across the region. This issue is not just about Guyana. This is about the entire Caribbean.”

Jagdeo highlighted that at CARICOM’s last Heads of Government meeting, an agreement was made to engage the Trump administration on many issues, as they felt that he should see the region not through the eyes of a third party but directly get the views of the leaders of the region.

According to Jagdeo Secretary of State, Rubio has been in contact with several leaders in CARICOM, President Irfaan Ali included, so it is anticipated given the impact it would have on the region, these threatened visa sanctions is one of the many issues on which CARICOM’s leaders will have to jointly approach and address the US government on, Jagdeo said. “Still, there are several other issues, so Guyana will be part of that CARICOM approach to the US administration. It will be done with, I guess, at the leadership level of the region, by the regional leaders directly with either the State Department or the White House.  We hope that we’d be able to do so, but not just on the Cuban Medical Brigade…on trade, matters on eight, matters on deportees,” he said. Further, the Guyanese government has made it clear and Jagdeo believes that this is the view of other countries in the region as well that they will accept without any condition their nationals.

Faithful friend

The Guyana Government last year had allocated some $60M to house Cuban doctors and technicians who were expected to arrive in the country. Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony had said that some 200 Cuban doctors and nurses were expected to arrive in the country early last year.  Back in 2022 at an event to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between Guyana and Cuba President had said: “When we think about our healthcare system and the thousands of doctors and nurses that benefited from training in Cuba; when we think about our engineering system; when we think about the medical brigades that came to support our health sector; when we think about the selfless sacrifice of sharing even when Cuba itself had limited resources, it tells us about a people who are committed to the cause of humanity, a people who are committed to the upliftment of humanity, a people who are committed to ensuring that they do their bit to making the world a better place.”

President Ali said then that Cuba has always been a faithful friend to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and continues to be a top destination for leaders in the LAC Region to seek medical treatment. “This tells you something about the character of the people themselves… [and their] interest in humanity. Cuba has shown us that if we put humanity at the centre of what we do, we can achieve great things,” President Ali stated. Nevertheless, the Head of State contended that Guyana will continue to maintain its strong, solid, respectful and dignified relationship with Cuba.

Key Focus: Guyana to be part of CARICOM mission to engage Trump on threats to impose visa sanctions on Cuban labor export programme- Jagdeo.

Lede: Guyana will be a part of the CARICOM mission to engage President Trump’s administration on the threats to impose visa sanctions on the leaders and their families of countries who are beneficiaries of the Cuban labor export program, including the medical missions.

(Concerns grow as US threatens visa sanctions over Cuban doctors )

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• CARICOM, Cuban Medical Mission, Jagdeo, Trump, visa sanctions

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