CNN Español
The presence of Cuban medical brigades in Latin America and the Caribbean is diminishing as several nations reassess their agreements with Havana amid internal challenges in Cuba and external pressures. The shift comes as Cuba grapples with fuel shortages and public discontent, while facing increased scrutiny from the United States.
The situation began in late January in Honduras, where the recently inaugurated administration of Nasry Asfura announced an investigation into alleged irregularities within the program, including concerns about personnel not being qualified healthcare workers. The cooperation subsequently ended and the Cuban medical brigade stationed in Honduras returned to Cuba. Asfura received support during his November election from former U.S. President Donald Trump, according to CNN Español.
Guatemala followed a similar path. On February 10, the government of Bernardo Arévalo said it would gradually complete its collaboration with Cuban doctors, citing a desire to strengthen the capabilities of its own national healthcare personnel.
Early in March, Jamaica announced the suspension of its program with Cuba, stating it had been unable to reach an agreement with Havana regarding the terms of the cooperation. Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Relations responded in a statement that the decision was “unilateral” and the result of pressure from the United States.
This week, Guyana joined the list of countries ending the presence of Cuban doctors, though the government of Irfaan Ali said Cuba withdrew its personnel after Georgetown sought to impose additional requirements for deployment, even as negotiations continued. Dominica and other Caribbean nations have also indicated they will modify the conditions of their collaboration with the Cuban medical brigades.
CNN contacted Cuba’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Public Health on Tuesday for comment but has not yet received a response.
The U.S. Department of State reiterated its criticism of the program, which it considers “forced labor.”
“We condemn the forced labor and human trafficking involved in the Cuban regime’s labor export scheme, especially its medical missions abroad. The state-sponsored program deprives ordinary Cubans of healthcare and healthcare professionals of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. We urge other countries to treat Cuban doctors fairly as individuals and not as commodities that the regime markets,” a Department spokesperson said in a statement sent to CNN.
Cuban medical brigades began in the 1960s, following the triumph of the 1959 revolution. Cuba says the brigades have provided care to hundreds of thousands of people in more than 150 countries, and governments in some of those nations say the personnel allow for healthcare access in remote areas where local doctors are unwilling to travel.
However, the program has faced criticism from other governments and civil society organizations. Havana has repeatedly rejected these accusations.
“The medical missions have been criticized for multiple situations. On one hand, the accusations about the trafficking and labor exploitation of people who collaborate within this scheme where payments are made directly to the Cuban regime. There are even accusations that these medical missions also carry out other types of activities related to training cadres or infiltration of intelligence personnel,” Yadira Gálvez, a professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), told CNN on Tuesday.
In November 2018, then-elected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro clashed with Cuba over this issue. Bolsonaro—an ally of Trump who considers Cuba a dictatorship—announced that his government would offer asylum to Cuban doctors who did not seek to return to the island, arguing that Cuban authorities restricted their freedoms.
Now, the announcements about the end of the presence of Cuban medical brigades in several countries in the region come amid increasing pressure from the United States on Cuba since the beginning of the year, following the military operation in which it captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a long-time ally of the island.
Following the ouster and arrest of Maduro—accused in the United States of drug trafficking and arms dealing, charges he denies—Trump has intensified his criticism of Cuba and insisted that changes in the country are imminent.
the capture of Maduro and the arrival of an interim government in Venezuela meant that Cuba lost its main supplier of oil. Mexico temporarily took its place, but suspended its crude oil shipments to the island after the United States threatened to impose additional tariffs on countries that provide energy to Cuba directly or indirectly.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country will maintain its shipments of humanitarian aid to Cuba and is making diplomatic efforts to resume oil deliveries.
As of early this year, both Venezuela and Mexico had agreements with Cuba for the presence of Cuban doctors in their territories. CNN contacted both governments to ask if these programs are still in effect and is awaiting a response.
Gálvez considered it clear that the United States intends to exert increasing pressure on the government of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. She added that the United States had given some indication of this since 2025, with the decision to revoke visas to some Brazilian officials and former officials of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) who supported the Cuban doctors program.
“We are going to see it in the coming days. Scenarios change rapidly. In this case, the strategy is clear: maximum pressure for the end of the Díaz-Canel regime,” said the analyst.
“That is the objective. And we must consider the regional context, including last week’s meeting to create the Shield of the Americas,” Gálvez added, referring to the summit Trump led on Saturday morning in Florida with a dozen Latin American leaders, in which—among other things—the U.S. President assured that “Cuba is in its final moments of life.”
