Guyana writes U.S. on Cuban labour prog. policy – President Ali

Mar 16, 2025 News

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…says no labour laws have been breached

Kaieteur News- The Government of Guyana has written to the Trump administration about its policy on the hiring of Cuban medical professionals, enquiring whether there are specific issues the United States of America wants to be addressed.

President Irfaan Ali made this disclosure on Saturday on the sidelines of the launch of the Healthcare Voucher at the Arthur Chung Conference Center.

He was asked by the media to state his government’s position on the U.S.’ threats to sanction governments, officials and their families should they hire persons through the Cuba labour export programme.

The President made it clear that every country has its own policy on matters, adding, “We have already responded to the U.S. through our official channels. That is, whatever workers we have here, whether it’s from Cuba, India… you know we have health care workers from all over, from Africa, from India, from Cuba…that they fall under the same labour laws, local labour laws and international labour laws.”.

Further, the Guyanese leader emphasized that his government has asked the U.S. to identify specific issues they would like addressed and efforts will be made to do so collaboratively.

“…because the U.S., as you know, is a very important partner also for Guyana and we work closely together on many issues,” President Ali told reporters.

The Head of State said while he has not seen the contract for the Cuban Medical Brigade to know when it expires, all the persons working in Guyana are subject to local and international laws. He said too that the U.S. has been assured of this and the benefits the health workers receive.

The government is yet to receive a response from the U.S., the President disclosed.

Asked whether the civil approach taken by Guyana was taken by other Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), he replied, “I can’t speak for the other Caribbean governments. I know when the policy was announced in its entirety by Secretary Rubio, we were at heads’ meetings. And this was one of the subjects that heads would have requested a meeting on with the U.S. State Department.”

On February 25, 2025, the United States Department of State, through its Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announced that there will be an expansion of the visa restriction policy for persons exploiting Cuban labour.

“Today, we announce the expansion of an existing Cuba-related visa restriction policy that targets labor linked to the Cuban labour export program. This expanded policy applies to current or former Cuban government officials, and other individuals, including foreign government officials, who are believed to be responsible for, or involved in, the Cuban labor export program, particularly Cuba’s overseas medical missions. This policy also applies to the immediate family of such persons. The Department has already taken steps to impose visa restrictions on several individuals, including Venezuelans, under this expanded policy,” Rubio said.

Further, the Secretary of State said that Cuba profits from the “forced labor of its workers and the regime’s abusive and coercive labor practices are well documented.”

“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. The United States is committed to countering forced labor practices around the globe. To do so, we must promote accountability not just for Cuban officials responsible for these policies, but also those complicit in the exploitation and forced labor of Cuban workers.”

Several Caribbean leaders have spoken out against the U.S. policy, making it clear that they are willing to give up their visas in support of the programme while noting that there is no exploitation of the Cuban medical professionals who come to the Caribbean.

Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, was the first regional leader to state that she is prepared to have her U.S. visa revoked in defence of the Cuban medical programmes.

On March 14, 2025, Kaieteur News published a report from the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) which quoted the Barbadian leader as saying, “This matter, with the Cubans and the nurses, should tell us everything that we need to know. Barbados does not currently have Cuban medical staff or Cuban nurses, but I will be the first to go to the line and to tell you that we could not get through the (Covid-19) pandemic without the Cuban nurses and the Cuban doctors.”

Mottley was at the time making a statement to the Barbadian Parliament.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, on March 10, 2025, in a video posted by Kawsachun News, said that his country, over the decades, has relied on certain specialists for their health care delivery and has obtained professional assistance from countries like the Philippines, sometimes from Africa, and mainly from Cuba.

“Out of the blue now we are being called human traffickers because we hire technical people who we pay top dollar equal to local rates, but we are now being accused of taking part in the programme where people are being exploited. That’s somebody’s interpretation, and of course, there are local people here, encouraging them to take away our US visas,” he said.

Rowley disclosed that he had just returned from California and if he never journeys to the U.S. again he “will ensure that the sovereignty of Trinidad and Tobago is known to its people and respected by all.”

Similarly, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, on March 13, 2025 ,while addressing a forum via a video posted by Kawsachun News, said that the U.S. Secretary of State has issued a statement saying that “countries which have, which are complicit, in his words, with trafficking in persons and exploiting Cuban professionals, the doctors and engineers who come, yeah, those who are complicit with lose their passport. They lose their visas and their families.”

PM Gonsalves made it clear that it is a fact that his country is not involved in any exploitation of Cuban workers, and neither is the Cuban government. However, if the U.S. is determined to take his visa and that of his family then he would like to publicly say he is not looking for a fight.

“We have to be honest and open, the hemodialysis which we do in Saint Vincent at the modern medical and diagnostic center, with these 60 persons, without the Cubans there, I will not be able to offer that service. So, does anybody expect that I to go because I want to keep a visa that I would let 60 persons from the poor and working people to die? It will never happen,” he firmly stated.

Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell on March 7, 2025 in an interview with Prime Time Caribbean, said that his country’s perspective is that they have a legitimate partnership with the people and Government of Cuba who have, over several decades, provided support to Grenada in the medical field. In this regard, the Prime Minister said that Grenada will continue to support and defend the partnership between the two countries.

“I think it’s a matter for us to clarify with (the U.S.) State Department and U.S. government. I mean, everybody understands how important the Cuban programme has been and continues to be for many countries in the world- the Caribbean included. I do not believe that any public health system in the Caribbean can survive without the support of the medical persons from Cuba,” the PM said.

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 Ali 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.

 

(Guyana writes U.S. on Cuban labour prog. policy – President Ali)

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• Cuban workers, firm stance, President Ali, US

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