June 4 (UPI) — The U.S. State Department has imposed visa restrictions on an unspecified number of Central American government officials accused of being involved in Cuba’s medical mission program.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the punitive measure in a statement Tuesday, describing those targeted with the visa restrictions as “officials responsible for Cuban medical mission programs that include elements of forced labor and the exploitation of Cuban workers.”
“These steps promote accountability for those who support and perpetuate these exploitative practices,” Rubio said. “The Cuban labor export program abuses the participants, enriches the corrupt Cuban regime and deprives everyday Cubans of essential medical care that they desperately need in their homeland.”
According to the State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report for Cuba, medical professionals comprise 75% of Cuba’s exported workforce, generating $4.9 billion of its total $7 billion in service exports in 2022.
The United States, citing doctors who have escaped from the program, accuses Cuba of human trafficking and worker exploitation, stating that those deployed to some 50 countries receive little or no pay, have their passports and medical credentials confiscated and have their rights restricted abroad, while also facing repercussions if they leave the program.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Human Rights Watch said the Cuban government imposes “draconian rules” on doctors deployed abroad.
The move comes after Rubio, in late February, announced that the State Department was expanding its visa restrictions policy targeting forced labor to enable the blacklisting of those linked to Cuba’s labor export programs.
Though Cuba has yet to respond to Tuesday’s move, it lashed out at the Trump administration following February’s announcement, with Havana’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, said the visa restrictions were “based on falsehoods and coercion.”
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., said on X Tuesday that she supports Rubio’s visa ban on those who benefit from Cuba’s international medical program.
“No nation should enrich a dictatorship by exploiting its own people,” she said.
“It’s time to end these slave missions and stand with the Cuban people.”