U.S. Includes Cuba on Human Trafficking Blacklist, Citing “Mais Médicos” Program

By Xiu Ying, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The United States has included Cuba within the most severe category for countries engaging in human trafficking, according to a report submitted on Thursday, June 20th, by the U.S. government.

One of the reasons, according to the document, is the Cuban government’s health program agreements with other countries – including the partnership with “Mais Médicos” in Brazil, which ceased in November last year.

According to the report, Cuba pulled out of Brazil’s program after requests from then-elected president Jair Bolsonaro to “improve the terms and conditions of employment of Cuban health professionals after allegations of coercion, unpaid wages, retention of passports and restrictions on travel”.

“The Cuban government has not taken action against forced labor in foreign medical programs, even after repeated accusations that Cuban government officials threatened and coerced some of the participants to remain in the program,” the U.S. report said.

Following the Cuban government’s decision to withdraw from “Mais Médicos” in November 2018, Bolsonaro said that “Cuba takes most of the Cuban doctors’ salaries and restricts their freedom and that of their family members.”

In addition to challenging medical missions, the report submitted by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claims that the Cuban government “has not criminalized all forms of forced labor or sex trafficking of 16- or 17-year-old youths.”

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel replied on Twitter: “This is what conservative ideas prevailing in #US mistake for trafficking in people. We denounce this immoral, lying, and perverse accusation. #WeareCuba Cuban internationalist doctors: slaves only to the love for others.”

On the same social network, Cuba’s chancellor, Bruno Rodríguez, considered the inclusion on the list “another slander to justify new measures of hostility” against the island.

Thus, Cuba went from level 2 to level 3 — the highest — on the list of human trafficking. In this position, countries do not meet the minimum protection standards for victims of trafficking stipulated by U.S. law, such as China, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela, and now Saudi Arabia.

Level 3 countries can be sanctioned and excluded from U.S. economic aid through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or other global development agencies. Brazil has remained at level 2.