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US hardens visa sanctions over Cuba medical program / Photo: © AFP/File
US hardens visa sanctions over Cuba medical program
The United States on Tuesday expanded visa restrictions over Cuba's dispatch of doctors overseas, a program Havana sees as a source of influence and revenue but which has long faced accusations of exploitation.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American and vociferous foe of the communist government in Havana, said the United States will now also bar visas to foreign government officials who assist the program.
He said that the United States was immediately imposing visa restrictions under the expanded policy on several people from Cuba's ally Venezuela and that immediate family members of sanctioned officials would also be affected.
"Cuba continues to profit from the forced labor of its workers and the regime's abusive and coercive labor practices are well documented," Rubio said.
"Cuba's labor export programs, which include the medical missions, enrich the Cuban regime, and in the case of Cuba's overseas medical missions, deprive ordinary Cubans of the medical care they desperately need in their home country," he said in a statement.
Cuba, which frequently highlights its universal health care system, has sent doctors around the world since the 1960s as it promotes itself in developing nations.
The program has become a major source of needed cash, particularly after the Soviet Union's collapse deprived Cuba of a major benefactor.
According to Cuban official figures, Cuba sent 22,632 medical professionals to 57 countries in 2023, with Cuba earning $6.3 billion in 2018 and $3.9 billion in 2020, in part in the form of oil from Venezuela.
Critics characterize the program as forced labor, and the United States under former president George W. Bush launched a program to encourage Cuban doctors overseas to defect.
Human Rights Watch has said that the Cuban doctors are deprived of fundamental freedoms as they live under draconian rules overseas.
Since returning to office last month, President Donald Trump has swiftly sought to ramp up pressure on Cuba.
He reversed a decision by his predecessor Joe Biden to take Cuba off a list of state sponsors of terrorism. The Biden administration agreed to lift the designation, which has severe effects on investment, in return for Cuba's release of political prisoners.
V.Mitchell--SFF
