«It is not that they are Cuban doctors, but that the regime does not pay them»

The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, denounced the conditions in which thousands of doctors sent by the Cuban regime to several countries of the world work.

At a joint conference with Jamaica Prime Minister, Dr. Andrew Holness, Rubio was questioned about his position about the presence of Cuban medical professionals in the Caribbean and what alternatives proposed to guarantee the stability of medical care in that country.

«It’s not about doctors. It is not about the provision of medical assistance. We have no problem with medical assistance or doctors. We have a problem … and I do not mean Jamaica; they … today we have talked about this about compliance with international labor standards and the like. But I mean this program in general, how it works throughout the world,» said the official of Cuban origin.

The head of American diplomacy recalled that «the way it works worldwide is that, basically, doctors are not paid. In many other parts of the world, they are not paid. The Cuban government is paid; the Cuban government decides how much, if there is something, give them; they withdraw their passports; basically, they operate as forced labor in many places.»

The Jamaica Premier had assured in the same press conference that Cuban doctors have been a great help for their country by supplying the sanitary personnel deficit.

«We are very careful not to exploit the Cuban doctors who are here. We ensure that they are treated according to our labor laws and benefit like any other worker. Therefore, any description of the program by others would certainly not be applicable to Jamaica. We ensure that our program complies with all international laws and standards of which we are a part,» said Holness.

Rubio acknowledged that perhaps the Caribbean island was among the sites with the best job standards for Cubans: «Perhaps Jamaica is one of them, and that is fine. But I am describing in general how the program has been. It has worked that way in many parts of the world and has put these people in a tremendous danger.»

«I think that we can all agree that human trafficking, whether doctors or agricultural workers, is not something we want to support, and we consider that it is an atrocious practice by the Cuban regime. Now, each country operates its program in a different way, and obviously, due to our relationship with Jamaica, we will interact with them in this regard, to discuss it more thoroughly already understand it. He handles here. But, in general, that is the problem of the program.

In February, the Donald Trump administration announced the expansion of its visa restriction policy for people involved in the Cuban labor export program, specifically of medical missions abroad. This measure generated criticism from several leaders from countries in the Caribbean community (CARICOM) who refuted that the hiring of Cuban doctors implied labor exploitation.