US sanctions officials for Cuban medical missions
The United States revoked visas and sanctioned officials for their links to Cuban medical missions, accused of forced labor.
Palácio do Planalto from Brasilia, Brazil, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio today stepped up a diplomatic offensive against Cuban medical missions, accompanied by sanctions against officials from Brazil, Grenada, and several African countries linked to these programs. The measure is part of a policy of pressure from the U.S. government on Díaz-Canel's island.
Concrete measures and new sanctions
Rubio announced the revocation of visas for two former Brazilian officials—Mozart Julio Tabosa Sales and Alberto Kleiman—for their participation in the program More Doctors, a plan established to transfer Cuban doctors to remote areas of Brazil.
In addition, the State Department extended these restrictions to officials of:
- Cuba
- Grenada (Caribbean)
- Several African nations
for their involvement in what they describe as a system of forced labor organized by the Cuban regime.
The official justification maintains that these missions generate revenue for the Havana regime while “depriving the Cuban people of essential medical care” and operate under coercive conditions that include passport retention and salary confiscation.
Diplomatic tensions
Rubio rated the program More Doctors as an “excessive diplomatic fraud” In contrast, Cuba has categorically rejected these accusations, denouncing a "smear campaign" and defending medical cooperation as an act of solidarity with countries that lack sufficient health resources.
From the Caribbean, leaders such as the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines warned that their health system would collapse without Cuban aid. Venezuela also criticized Rubio's remarks as an act of "envy" toward a program that, according to its foreign minister, has saved millions of lives.
Continuation of a policy of pressure on Cuba
These sanctions are part of an escalation of measures taken by the Trump administration, supported by Rubio, against the Cuban regime. These include placing it on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, economic sanctions, and immigration restrictions.
Rubio had already announced similar restrictions in June. against Central American officials linked to Cuban medical missions.
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