Letter calling for reinstatement of Cuban medical brigade delivered to OP

Mar 06, 2026 News

---

…activists say Govt. bowing to U.S. pressure

(Kaieteur News) – Chairman of the Office for the Victory of the People (OVP) Gerald Perreira on Thursday accused the Government of Guyana (GoG) of bowing to pressure from the United Stated of America (USA) in its decision to terminate the agreement with Cuba for the Cuban Medical Brigade.

In an interview after delivering a letter to President Irfaan Ali that was signed by over 100 organisations, and persons in Guyana, calling for the reinstatement of the medical brigade, Perreira told the media that the Cubans have been in Guyana for more than 40 years, making tremendous contributions to the healthcare system. “As a seasoned political activist, I am very much aware that one Marco Rubio came into this country and issued a directive to the President of Guyana to send home the Cuban Medical Brigade and I am not going to call Frank Anthony, the Minister of Health, a liar. I do not believe him when he said there was no pressure,” he stated.

The activist explained that he has knowledge of how the U.S. operates and the arrogance is displayed globally, with the threatening of countries and Cuba’s tightened sanctions, which have blockaded the country so that no fuel can enter. It was also highlighted that there is approximately more than, 28,000 Cuban mothers who run the risk of losing their babies, as there is no electricity. “So, what we are seeing here is a resurgence of white supremacy, and U.S. imperialism to dominate the planet. President Trump has taken the Monroe Doctrine to a new level, to the Donroe doctrine, which is the U.S. is not just concerned about their own so-called backyard, right, but we are seeing threatening Greenland and other countries now,” he said.

Calling out the president for the way he has been handling the situation, the activist said that Guyana is being re-colonised right before our very eyes, and “the President, I’m not sure which is the president. I see him as an overseer, an overseer of this new plantation called Guyana, and, the opposition, by its silence, is complicit.”

Perreira is also calling on the opposition parties and their leaders especially Aubrey Norton who studied in Cuba, to add their voices to the fight, cautioning that citizens need to wake up. “The last time I know we had any semblance of sovereignty and independence in this country was, and I make no apologies, was under the late visionary leader Forbes Burnham, and when he died, the re-colonisation process started right from Desmond Hoyte, right now and today, this is where we are,” he added.

The letter calling for the reinstatement of the medical brigade was also delivered to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugh Todd. The appeal comes on the heels of a press release from the United States Embassy in Guyana quoting Rubio as expressing appreciation for Guyana’s decision to end its participation in what Washington termed the Cuban regime’s “medical mission forced labour scheme.”

The signatories have branded that characterisation as baseless and offensive, arguing that successive Guyanese administrations have openly praised and relied upon Cuban medical professionals for decades. They point to remarks delivered on December 8, 2002, by then President Bharrat Jagdeo at a summit marking 30 years of diplomatic relations between Caribbean nations and Cuba. Addressing then Cuban President Fidel Castro and regional leaders, Jagdeo hailed Cuba as “a neighbour, a true friend and a brother,” crediting the island with helping to “catapult forward” Caribbean health systems through a steady inflow of competent medical professionals and generous scholarship programmes.

Those words, the letter writers argue, stand in stark contrast to the government’s current posture. They contend that Guyana’s health system especially in hinterland and underserved communities has long depended on Cuban doctors, nurses and specialists. To abruptly sever that relationship, they say, risks widening already troubling gaps in healthcare delivery.

Equally concerning to the group is the future of the Cuba scholarship programme, which has enabled hundreds of Guyanese from modest backgrounds to pursue studies in medicine and other critical fields. Many of those graduates now serve in public hospitals and clinics across the country.

President Ali is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Miami on March 7. The delegation is urging him to defend Guyana’s sovereign right to pursue independent foreign policy decisions grounded in national interest rather than external pressure. The letter also denounces the tightening fuel embargo imposed by Washington on Cuba, describing it as immoral and destructive. According to international reports, fuel shortages have crippled electricity generation, transportation, and essential services on the island. Hospitals are reportedly struggling to function, ambulances have been sidelined, and medical staff, face severe constraints in delivering care. The signatories argue that such measures do not merely target a government but inflict suffering on ordinary citizens. They insist that Guyana, as a CARICOM member state with a history of solidarity with Cuba, must not align itself with policies that undermine a longstanding regional partner.

---

• Cuba, Cuban medical brigade, letter, reinstatement

---