**Georgetown, Guyana** – Caribbean leaders are opposing a new U.S. policy aimed at cracking down on Cuban medical missions, asserting that the work of hundreds of Cuban medical staff across the region is essential.
Hugh Todd, Guyana’s foreign minister, informed The Associated Press on Tuesday that foreign ministers from a 15-member Caribbean trade bloc known as CARICOM recently met with U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone in Washington, D.C. This meeting followed the U.S. government’s threat to restrict visas for those involved in Cuban missions, which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has labelled as “forced labour.”
Todd emphasised, “The U.S. is a strategic partner to CARICOM, but this critical issue must be addressed at the level of heads of government.”
Currently, Cuba has approximately 24,180 doctors working in 56 countries, with these missions significantly enhancing healthcare across the Caribbean, particularly in impoverished nations with limited medical resources.
“Their presence here is crucial to our healthcare system,” stated Kamina Johnson Smith, Jamaica’s foreign minister, during a press briefing last week. She noted that Jamaica has more than 400 Cuban doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers, and technicians.
At least two prominent Caribbean leaders—the prime ministers of Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines—have publicly opposed the new policy and expressed that they would willingly forgo their U.S. visas.
“I would rather lose my visa than allow 60 poor and vulnerable individuals to die,” said Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent. He highlighted that Cuban doctors are providing essential care to patients, including 60 who require dialysis treatment. “I will not be able to provide that service,” he told reporters during a recent official trip to Jamaica.
Meanwhile, Trinidad Prime Minister Keith Rowley also stated on Monday that he would not mind losing his U.S. visa either.