Caribbean leaders cited allegations of forced labour and fought back at threats issued by the US government to cancel visas to cooperate and support Cuban health facilities that claim to “enrich the Cuban regime.”
Cuba’s medical mission, providing doctors, nurses, other medical staff and medical facilities, is important for the Caribbean health system.
So how will the Caribbean respond to this threat and what does it mean for healthcare?
Why is the US government aiming for Cuba’s healthcare program?
Targeting Cuban medical missions is nothing new to President Donald Trump’s administration. During his first term as US president from 2017 to 2021, his administration imposed visa sanctions on Cuba’s global health program. His government argued that these missions amounted to “trafficking human trafficking.”
Now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced visa restrictions on Cuban government officials and anyone else who believes the US is “conspiratoring” with Cuban foreign healthcare programs. The State Department said the restrictions extend to “current and former officials” and “close relatives of such people.”
Rubio calls Cuban healthcare programs a form of “forced labor,” and the government warns that the Caribbean countries participating in these programs could face visa restrictions and potential trade impacts.
However, no concrete evidence has been provided to support these claims.
The US is expanding its Cuba-related visa restriction policy. @Stateptept has taken steps to restrict the issuance of visas to Cuba and conspiring third-country government officials and individuals responsible for Cuba’s exploitative labor export programs. I’ll promote it…
– Secretary Marco Rubio (@secrubio) February 25, 2025
The US claims that Cuban governments are exploiting health professionals by maintaining a large portion of wages and limiting freedom. Some Cuban doctors have criticized the program’s terms for their loss, but many others say they are happy to take part.
Tamaris Bahamond, an economist at the US-based Center for Latin America and Latinos Research, said the issue is “complicated” and that doctors should focus their own voices.
“Whether or not Cuban doctors qualify for forced labor, they know they don’t negotiate their contracts or working conditions,” she said.
“Cuba holds a significant portion of its salary and has testimony from doctors confirming restrictions on movement, the confiscation of passports by Cuban authorities in the host country, and restrictions on taking family members.”
At the same time, Bahammond repeatedly reiterated the important role played by Cuban health professionals. Especially when it comes to providing healthcare services to underserved communities.
“When I was working at a foreign embassy in Havana, I saw firsthand how grateful the doctors of Cuba and the many countries that bring to isolated areas.
Can the Trump administration legally do this?
Legally, Trump has broad authority over visa policies through the State Department. The US government can impose restrictions without needing approval from Congress by citing national security or foreign policy concerns.
While affected countries can push back diplomatic or legal channels, Bahammond noted that US targeting Cuba’s medical missions is not exclusive to the Trump administration.
“The proposed visa restrictions are actually an expansion of policies launched by the Biden administration. In 2024, President Biden signed a spending bill that includes sanctions on officials from third countries who contracted Cuban health services,” Bahammond told Al Jazeera.
“That same year, his administration also accused Cuba of benefiting from medical professionals.”
She added that opposition to Cuba’s medical missions is “bipartisan,” citing a 2024 resolution led by Republican Rep. Mark Greene, calling for the revocation of visas to the country employing Cuban doctors.
“Sense of Cuba’s medical missions is pretty consistent across the party’s boundaries. I wouldn’t expect any serious resistance to them if President Trump has the one-sided authority to impose these visa restrictions,” she said.
This suggests that regardless of who is in power, the Caribbean is likely to continue to face diplomatic pressures rather than relying on Cuban health professionals, she said.
How did Caribbean leaders respond?
Some Caribbean leaders have declared they will waive their right to grant US visas if it means maintaining Cuban medical missions.
This week, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley gave a fiery speech to Congress, calling the US stance “unfair and unfair.”
“Without the Cuban nurses and Cuban doctors, we wouldn’t have survived the pandemic,” she said.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Raleigh warned that US interference in Caribbean medical decisions is unacceptable.
“Now we are called human traffickers, because we hire technicians who pay the best dollars,” said Laurie, adding that he is ready to lose his US visa.
Similarly, St. Vincent and Prime Minister Grenazin Ralph Goncalves highlighted the direct effect Cuban doctors have on patient care.
“If the Cubans weren’t there, we might not be able to perform the service,” he said. “60 poor working people prefer to lose their visas rather than dying.”
And last week, Jamaican Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith told reporters that the government considers Cuban doctors important.
“Their presence here is important to our health care system,” she said. There are currently 400 Cuban doctors, nurses and medical technicians working in the country.
In a post in X, Bahamas Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell assured Cuba’s programme, saying his government “follows all international best practices in labor recruitment.”
Guyana’s Foreign Minister Hugh Todd told the Associated Press on Tuesday that 15 foreign ministers from the Caribbean community (Caricom) met with Mauricio Craber Karon, a special envoy of Latin America in Washington, D.C.
“The US is a strategic partner at CARICOM, but this very important issue must be addressed at the head of government level,” he said.
Why is Cuba’s medical mission important for Caribbean healthcare, and what if they are reduced?
Cuba has over 24,000 doctors working in 56 countries around the world. It especially supports healthcare throughout the Caribbean, with a deep economic crisis, particularly in poor countries, and health services are limited.
“The impact on the Caribbean will depend on how essential Cuban doctors are to their healthcare system and how difficult it is to replace them in the short term without significantly affecting the communities that rely on them,” Bahammond said.
For many Caribbean countries, short-term outcomes can be devastating. Training local doctors takes years, and trained professionals often migrate to other countries, leaving behind persistent shortages.
Cuba helps fill this gap by sending thousands of healthcare professionals to locals who are far more affordable than private health options, Bahammond explained. These missions provide primary care, emergency response teams and experts in areas often underrepresented in Caribbean hospitals.
They have also played a prominent role in responding to local disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and public health emergencies. Cuban doctors have helped to combat the outbreak of cholera in Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010 and support the Caribbean during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Which other countries rely on Cuba’s medical missions?
Cuba doesn’t just send doctors to the Caribbean. There are medical missions all over the world. Some important examples are:
Venezuela is one of the largest recipients of Cuban physicians and has worked at community clinics with thousands. Brazil was responsible for the major Cuban healthcare program until 2018, when Cuba remembered 8,000 doctors due to a diplomatic conflict. Italy received Cuban doctors during the Covid-19 pandemic and supported overwhelmed hospitals in some of its most intense regions. South Africa hosts Cuban health professionals in rural areas with a shortage of doctors.