TL/DR –
The U.S. is revoking visas of Brazilian, African and Caribbean officials with ties to Cuba’s overseas medical program, which it labels “forced labour”. It has targeted two Brazilian health officials involved with the “Mais Medicos” program, along with some African officials and the Caribbean country of Grenada. Cuba, whose medical missions serve as a crucial foreign currency source, has criticized Washington’s move, reiterating that its “medical cooperation will continue”.
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian, African, and Caribbean Officials Linked to Cuba’s Doctor Export Program
The US has revoked visas of officials from Brazil, Africa, and the Caribbean over their affiliation with Cuba’s foreign medical missions program, labeled by Washington as “forced labor.” This program forms a main source of foreign currency for economically isolated Cuba, which has faced severe US sanctions for decades.
Brazilian Ministry of Health officials Mozart Julio Tabosa Sales and Alberto Kleiman, involved in Brazil’s “Mais Medicos” or “More Doctors” program, established in 2013, have had their visas revoked. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio imposed these sanctions on officials for allegedly aiding the Cuban regime’s coercive labor export scheme.”
Rubio accused this scheme of enriching Cuba’s corrupt regime while depriving Cuban people of crucial healthcare. “The Department of State has revoked visas and imposed visa restrictions on several Brazilian government officials, and former Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) officials and their family members,” explained Rubio.
Rubio also imposed visa restrictions on African officials (without stating specific countries) and the Caribbean country Grenada, citing the same reasons.
The Cuban government has dismissed Washington’s attempts to halt its medical missions as a cynical effort to target its foreign currency earnings. Johana Tablada, Cuba’s deputy director of US affairs, pledged that “medical cooperation will continue.”
Following the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Cuba’s international medical outreach has provided free or low-cost medical programmes to developing nations. Reports estimate that over the past five decades, Cuba has sent between 135,000 and 400,000 doctors abroad.
Alexandre Padilha, Brazilian Minister of Health, vowed not to bow to the “unreasonable attacks” on Mais Medicos. The program’s contract with Cuba was terminated in 2018 after then-President-elect Jair Bolsonaro questioned the agreement and the qualifications of Cuban doctors.
The US has had a tumultuous relationship with Brazil, imposing sanctions on Brazilian officials involved in Bolsonaro’s ongoing trial over his alleged 2022 coup plot.
Although Cuba’s healthcare system is universally accessible, sanctions and a decrease in tourism due to Trump’s travel ban have impacted its self-sufficiency. In addition, the “maximum pressure” campaign against Cuba has been resumed by the Trump administration.
In 2023, Cuba could not afford the $300m to import raw materials for critical medicines. Furthermore, Trump imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other key officials for their alleged brutality towards the Cuban people. The administration has also expressed its intention to tighten visa restrictions on Cuban and foreign officials linked to Havana’s global medical missions.
Rubio described the medical program as one where “medical professionals are ‘rented’ by other countries at high prices”, but “most of the revenue is kept by the Cuban authorities”.
After Hugo Chavez’s Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela in 1999, Cuba sent medical staff and educators to the country in exchange for buying Venezuelan oil at below-market prices. This led to the idea of exporting medical professionals as a source of revenue. Over the first 10 years of the “Oil for Doctors” program, 30,000 Cuban medical workers were sent to Venezuela. Cuba later received hard currency to establish permanent medical missions in countries including South Africa, Brazil, Ecuador, and Qatar.
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