The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, announced on Wednesday (13) the revocation of visas from Cuban and Brazilian authorities accused of intermediating payments that finance the Havana regime through export programs of doctors. According to Rubio, at Mais Médicos, Brazil, managers used the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to pass substantially from the salary due to professionals directly to the Cuban communist regime.
Launched in 2013, under the government of Dilma Rousseff, Mais Médicos was presented as a solution to the scarcity of doctors in remote areas. However, diplomatic telegrams revealed later showed that the initiative came from the Cuban regime itself, which saw in these missions a billionaire source of income to support the dictatorship. Documents also confirmed that Brazil accepted all the requirements of Havana, including the obligation to return to the island even to Cuban doctors who wanted to stay in the country.
The international agreement between Brazil and the communist regime channeled billions to Cuban coffers. Between 2013 and 2017, Brazil spent about R $ 13 billion on the program; More than half – approximately $ 7 billion – was sent to Cuba. The model provided for doctors to receive only between 15% and 25% of the amount paid, with the rest transferred to the regime. To avoid going through Congress, the Dilma government articulated the hiring via PAHO, ensuring a “legal framework” for the transfer.
The same model is repeated in several nations. Survey made by the NGO Observatory of Cuban Health (OCH) indicates that until September 2024, more than 50,000 Cuban professionals worked abroad in missions organized by the dictatorship present in Latin America, Africa, Caribbean and Europe.
According to the NGO, in Venezuela, about 13,000 Cuban doctors work under direct supervision of the Cuban regime, which has a strong partnership with the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. Substantial part of salaries that are paid by the Chavista dictatorship to professionals are retained by Havana. In Mexico, there are already approximately 5,000 professionals, hired without direct bonding with the local health system and under the exclusive management of state -owned Cuban trading of Cuban medical services (CSMC). In the Caribbean and Africa, countries such as Belize, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Angola also maintain similar agreements, often criticized for human rights violations.
These programs, according to the NGO, are considered by the United Nations and the Inter -American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) as “high risk of work exploration”, as the communist regime that controls Cuba retains most of their salary and imposes political control on workers.
In Europe, the most emblematic case is that of Italy. The independent portal CubaNet In June, he revealed that, even with full payment contracts, doctors sent by the Castrist dictatorship to the Calabria region receive only 1,200 euros a month, while the Italian government disburses about 4,700 euros per professional. According to CubaNetthe rest is transferred to state -owned CSMC, which belongs to the communist regime. Extra hours and bonuses, such as the “13th salary” Italian, suffer discounts that can reach 80%, a practice considered illegal by experts.
According to the NGO Prisoners Defendersthe values retained by Havana, multiplied by the global contingent of doctors, represent billions of euros and annual dollars in revenue for the communist dictatorship. The NGO pointed out that less than 2% of this amount is reinvested in the island health system, most of them directed to the tourist sector, regime investments and maintenance of the internal repression apparatus. In addition, doctors who abandon missions are prohibited from returning to Cuba for eight years, which separates families and prevents the free movement of professionals.
Still according to Prisoners DefendersInternal documents show that Cuba’s control over doctors who are part of the international program goes beyond the financial issue: they cannot move without authorization, affiliate with local unions, participate in demonstrations or maintain uninformed relationships with residents. They are also required to participate in political acts and regime advertising campaigns, including social networks, under the constant monitoring of the so -called “international medical mission”, which is how the dictatorship refers to the program.
Despite Washington’s complaints and new sanctions, Cuban chancellor Bruno Rodríguez said on Wednesday that the missions are “legitimate programs for cooperation” and accused the US of adopting a “new foreign policy doctrine” to press Havana. He also assured that the program will continue to exist.
