Caribbean PMs Defend Cuban Medical Missions Amid US ‘Forced Labor’ Claims

At least two Caribbean leaders have spoken out against a new US policy aimed at cracking down on Cuban medical missions in the region.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves and his Trinidadian counterpart Dr Keith Rowley are standing firm against US allegations that the medical missions from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean nations amount to “forced labour”.

“I will prefer to lose my visa than to have 60 poor and working people die,” said Gonsalves, responding to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assertion that Cuba exploits its medical professionals.

The 60 people he was referring to are patients currently receiving dialysis treatment from the trained Cuban professionals in St Vincent.

Prime Minister Rowley on Monday expressed similar sentiments.

“I just came back from California, and if I never go back there again in my life, I will ensure that the sovereignty of Trinidad and Tobago is known to its people and respected by all,” he stated.

“We rely heavily on health care specialists whom we have obtained from India, the Philippines, and mainly from Cuba over the decades.”

According to Dr Rowley, those medical professionals are paid the same as their local counterparts.

Expanded visa restrictions announced by Rubio target individuals and immediate family members of individuals tied to the programme that sends Cuban workers overseas. The US has already imposed restrictions on several people, including some Venezuelans.

To date, there has been no official response from the Government of Saint Lucia to Rubio’s pronouncement.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cuban medical brigade deployed over 100 medical professionals to assist in management and care in Saint Lucia.

Cuba has also provided medical missions to Saint Lucia to assist in eye care, while several Cuban medical professionals operate at the island’s health care institutions.

Reports indicate that Cuba has 24 180 doctors working in 56 nations across the Caribbean and beyond.

Earlier this week, Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, told the Associated Press that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) foreign ministers recently met with US Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone in Washington, DC, to discuss the issue. 

“The US is a strategic partner to CARICOM, but this very important issue has to be dealt with at the level of heads of government,” Todd said.

According to a report by the Miami Herald, Rubio plans to visit the wider Caribbean later this month. Claver-Carone is also expected to travel to some English-speaking Caribbean nations.