The United States has revoked visas for Brazilian, African, and Caribbean officials linked to Cuba’s overseas medical programs, which Washington describes as “coercive labor.” Brazilian Health Ministry officials Mozart Julio Tabosa Sales and Alberto Kleiman were targeted for their work on Brazil’s Mais Médicos (“More Doctors”) program, created in 2013.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions target officials who “abet the Cuban regime’s labor export scheme,” claiming it enriches Cuba while depriving its citizens of essential healthcare. Visa restrictions were also applied to African officials and Grenada for similar reasons, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
Cuba rejected the accusations, calling US actions a “cynical excuse” to attack its foreign currency earnings, and affirmed that its international medical missions will continue. These programs, running since the post-1959 revolution period, provide medical aid to developing nations and generate critical revenue for Cuba.
