Cuba Points Finger at Trump as Jamaica Ends 50-Year Medical Partnership

The five-decade medical partnership between Jamaica and Cuba has come to an end. According to the Jamaican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the decision follows the failure of both governments to agree on new terms “of a new technical cooperation arrangement” after the previous agreement expired in February 2023.

However, the move comes as Washington increases pressure on countries working closely with the Caribbean island and accuses its overseas medical missions of forced labour.

Under the programme, Cuban doctors, nurses, and specialists helped fill major staffing gaps in Jamaica’s hospitals and clinics. The government said Cuban medical professionals currently working in Jamaica may continue their duties through individual contracts that follow local labour laws.

“In the interest of continuity of the valuable service provided by the Cuban medical professionals present in the country, the Government of Jamaica has indicated its willingness… to engage these medical professionals on an individual basis,” the ministry added in a statement.

It is reported that nearly 300 Cuban medical workers are still serving in Jamaica. Cuban doctors have been working in Jamaica since 1976.

Meanwhile, the Cuban foreign ministry called the decision “regretful”. In a response statement it said, “Cuba regrets the decision of the Government of Jamaica to cease medical cooperation, yielding to pressure from the United States. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba reports that, on March 4, the foreign ministry of Jamaica communicated to our embassy in that country the unilateral decision of its government to terminate the health cooperation agreement that has linked both nations for decades.”

Cuba has ordered the return of the Cuban Medical Brigade currently in Jamaica.