The United States Department of State announced visa restrictions on government officials from Cuba, Grenada and several African nations, along with their immediate family members, citing their involvement in Cuba’s overseas medical missions programme.
The move, announced on August 13, targets individuals accused of enabling what the US describes as a “forced labour scheme”, under which Cuban medical professionals are contracted abroad while the majority of their earnings are retained by the Cuban government.
In its statement, the State Department condemned the programme as exploitative, alleging it “enriches the corrupt Cuban regime while depriving the Cuban people of essential medical care”.
Grenada, one of the affected nations, has long relied on Cuban doctors to address critical healthcare shortages. Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell recently affirmed Grenada’s “legitimate partnership” with Cuba, emphasising decades of medical support that would be difficult to replace.
Other Caribbean leaders, including those from Saint Lucia, Jamaica and St Vincent and the Grenadines, have rejected US claims of forced labour and defended the missions as vital to their healthcare systems.
Earlier this year, the US issued diplomatic warnings to Caribbean nations employing Cuban medical personnel, prompting the responses.
Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre stressed that Cuban doctors, integral since 1979, are paid directly by the government and treated equally to local staff.
“Our medical system would basically collapse without them,” he said.
Cuba has dismissed the US accusations, calling its medical missions humanitarian solidarity. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez denounced the visa restrictions as part of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “personal agenda” and “unjustified aggression”.
The U.S. maintains that its policy aims to protect workers’ rights, urging host countries to pay doctors directly.
