Cuba Pulls Doctors from Another Caribbean Country

Another of Cuba’s long-standing medical brigades in the Caribbean has ended, this time in Guyana. 

Guyanese Health Minister Frank Anthony said on Monday that it was Cuba, not Guyana, that decided to withdraw from the partnership after more than four decades.

Anthony added that Cuban doctors remain welcome to work in the country once they meet local licensing requirements.

“Once they’re properly qualified and certified by our medical authorities here, medical counsel, nursing counsel, and so forth, once they meet those requirements, then we’d be able to offer them a job,” he said.

The withdrawal of Cuba’s medical brigade from Guyana is part of a wider regional shift as Caribbean governments review the long-running programme under pressure from the US president Donald Trump’s administration.

Cuban medical missions have operated across the Caribbean and Latin America for decades, sending doctors to countries with limited healthcare staff while generating revenue for the communist-led island.

However, the Trump administration has intensified the sharp criticism against the programme, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the missions as a form of “forced labour.”

Amid the scrutiny, several Caribbean governments have begun reviewing how Cuban doctors are paid and employed.

In Jamaica, authorities recently ended their 50-year-long medical cooperation programme after a government review raised concerns about salary payments and the handling of Cuban doctors’ passports. Jamaican officials said Havana rejected proposed changes, including paying the doctors directly.

Meanwhile, several other Caribbean countries, including The Bahamas, Antigua, Dominica and St. Lucia, have also said they are interested in changing agreement terms, including how Cuban doctors are paid.

There are currently 105 Cuban medical professionals in Belize, 45 of whom are specialised doctors, according to Health Minister Kevin Bernard.

News 5 asked Minister Bernard on Tuesday whether the Cuban brigade in Belize was at risk of ending. Bernard responded, “I know there are discussions being had between my ministry, the Ministry of Immigration, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. I leave that as that. Until I have all the full details in terms of what will be the next steps forward, then I’ll be able to provide.”

Belize and Cuba have had a medical partnership for over 30 years, and with growing pressure from Washington on the region, the future of the programme in Belize remains unclear.