People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) leader Aubrey Norton said that the Guyana government should have negotiated the working conditions of Cuban healthcare workers to address concerns from the United States while ensuring foreign policy continuity across both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, Norton emphasized that assisting Cuban medical personnel “doesn’t make you anti-American” and argued that the government could have engaged the U.S. to find a compromise. “If the Guyana government had taken a proper approach and dealt with this matter as a proper foreign policy issue, they would have engaged the American government to say to them, ‘look, we hear you on this question of the Cuban government utilizing a lot of the resources, but could we find a midway point… to ensure that Cuban doctors get more?’” Norton said.
The U.S. had warned Caribbean countries that government officials and their families could lose tourist visas if they continued to access services from the Cuban Medical Brigade, citing concerns that the majority of payments were going to the Cuban government rather than the healthcare workers. In response, Guyana canceled the program and opted to hire Cuban doctors directly.
Norton, a former foreign service officer and Cuban-trained political scientist, stressed that Guyana and the Caribbean have a moral obligation to support Cuba, which has provided medical personnel to the region for decades. He also highlighted the strategic importance of small-state solidarity, particularly in relation to U.S. support for Guyana amid Venezuela’s ongoing territorial claims over the mineral- and forest-rich Essequibo region.
“We should never put ourselves in a position where we become part and parcel of a mechanism that seeks to starve and destroy Cuban society,” Norton said, noting disruptions in Cuba caused by U.S. sanctions following the rendition of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the shutdown of Caracas’ oil supplies.
Norton criticized the administration of President Irfaan Ali for failing to protect Guyana’s interests and not engaging in negotiations that could have preserved access to Cuban medical expertise. He urged the government to adopt pragmatic foreign policies that can withstand shifts in international politics, including potential changes in the U.S. Congress over the next three years.
“There’s a failure of the government to engage, negotiate, and protect our interests because our interest also lies in us having the expertise and the support from the Cuban system to facilitate and help our health system,” Norton said.
