The Cuban government has accused the United States of “extorting” Latin American countries by pressuring them to end long-standing agreements for the deployment of Cuban doctors, saying Washington is targeting its overseas medical missions by pushing countries to cancel bilateral health cooperation deals.
Foreign Minister, Bruno RodrĂguez, said the United States is deliberately seeking to undermine one of Cuba’s main sources of revenue through what he described as an attempt to “strangle” the island’s economy.
Several countries have already begun scaling back or ending such partnerships amid growing U.S. pressure, including Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, and Guyana.
The decades-old programme, which sends Cuban medical professionals abroad, has been a major source of both international influence and income for Havana since the 1960s. However, the United States has repeatedly criticised it, describing the scheme as a form of forced labour.
The pressure campaign forms part of a broader hardline policy toward Cuba under former U.S. President Donald Trump, aimed at cutting off financial flows to the Cuban government.
According to official figures, tens of thousands of Cuban healthcare workers are deployed globally, often in underserved and remote communities.
The programme is projected to generate billions of dollars annually for Cuba, making it one of the country’s most important economic lifelines.
However, the initiative has come under increased scrutiny. A recent report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) alleged serious abuses, including wage withholding, passport confiscation, and threats against medical personnel who abandon their assignments.
The report also suggested that some of the practices could amount to forced labour and human trafficking.
Cuba has consistently rejected such claims, defending the missions as acts of solidarity aimed at delivering healthcare services to hard-to-reach populations around the world.
