St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is sounding the alarm over the potential repercussions for Caribbean healthcare if the United States proceeds with sanctions targeting nations that participate in Cuban medical missions.
His warning comes amid a recent announcement by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who proposed visa restrictions on officials from countries engaged in these programs. Rubio’s remarks, which characterize the program as exploitative and akin to human trafficking, have drawn concern from CARICOM and Caribbean leaders like Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith.
In a radio address, Prime Minister Gonsalves expressed grave concerns about the consequences should these sanctions be enacted, particularly on countries like St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which rely heavily on Cuban medical professionals. Dr. Gonsalves stated that without the Cuban medical program, health services in the region would be severely impacted, leading to increased mortality.
“If you’re to cut that off, a lot of health services in the Caribbean would suffer greatly, and a lot of people would die. Guyana and Jamaica, I believe are the largest ones but certainly the OECS countries too,” Gonsalves said.
The U.S. visa restrictions, announced on February 25, target Cuban and foreign officials involved in managing Cuba’s overseas medical missions but do not directly affect the doctors themselves.
The U.S. government argues that these missions involve forced labor, where Cuban professionals are sent abroad under exploitative conditions while the Cuban government profits from their work. Rubio, who is of Cuban heritage, justified the policy by emphasizing the U.S. commitment to countering forced labor globally, holding both Cuban and foreign officials accountable.
Jamaica concerned about visa restrictions
Jamaica’s Minister Kamina Johnson Smith voiced concern over the potential impact of these restrictions on the country’s healthcare system. In a recent statement, she noted that Jamaica has over 400 participants in the Cuban medical program, including doctors, nurses, and biomedical engineers.
“The Jamaican government is also examining the operation of our system. We have over 400 participants from the Cuban medical programme at different levels—doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers, and technicians—so their presence here is of importance to our healthcare system,” Johnson Smith said.
Prime Minister Gonsalves also took the opportunity to clarify that the Cuban doctors working in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are paid a fair salary by the government. He explained that Cuba trains its doctors for free, and it is not unreasonable for the country to seek compensation if doctors go abroad and earn a salary. He likened the arrangement to a bond system, where countries benefiting from Cuba’s trained medical professionals should contribute to the Cuban government.
“Cuba trains its doctors for free, so if you’re traveling overseas on a program where you’re going to get a salary, it is not unreasonable to get back some money to the government that has trained you if you’re going to ‘profit’ from it outside,” Gonsalves said.
Despite the threats of sanctions, Gonsalves reaffirmed his government’s support for the Cuban medical program, which recently saw an extension of the Bilateral Agreement for Technical Cooperation in Health between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Cuba.
