WASHINGTON, DC – THE Government of Grenada says it is engaging with U.S. counterparts to better understand the State Department’s recent decision to revoke visas for certain Grenadian government officials and their family members.
The U.S. announced the move this week as part of a wider clampdown on countries that continue to employ Cuban health professionals under what Washington calls Cuba’s coercive "labor export” programme.
In a statement, the Government of Grenada (GOG) said it has “taken note” of the U.S. press release and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is “actively engaged with the authorities of the United States, through established diplomatic channels, in addressing this matter”.
The U.S. State Department’s Wednesday statement read: “Today, the Department of State took steps to impose visa restrictions on African, Cuban, and Grenadan government officials, and their family members, for their complicity in the Cuban regime’s medical mission scheme in which medical professionals are ‘rented’ by other countries at high prices and most of the revenue is kept by the Cuban authorities. This scheme enriches the corrupt Cuban regime while depriving the Cuban people of essential medical care.”
Washington alleges that many participating countries pay the Cuban government directly for these services, with only a fraction of the funds reaching the medical workers themselves.
“These officials were responsible for or involved in abetting the Cuban regime’s coercive labor export scheme, which exploits Cuban medical workers through forced labor. This scheme enriches the corrupt Cuban regime and deprives the Cuban people of essential medical care,” the statement read as they also clamped down on government officials in Brazil.
For decades, many developing and improvished nations have relied on Cuban doctors for critical healthcare services, particularly during emergencies. Caribbean, African, South American, and some European countries turned to Cuban medical teams during the COVID-19 pandemic.
St. Kitts and Nevis is among the nations that have benefitted from both Cuban doctors and medical training programmes. Earlier this year, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Denzil Douglas dismissed suggestions that St. Kitts and Nevis was paying the Cuban government directly.
Responding to a question from SKNVibes, Dr. Douglas explained that Cuban doctors in the Federation are paid on par with local counterparts, with salaries deposited directly into their personal accounts.
“Again, the situation with regard to the arrangement between the St. Kitts and Nevis government services, that arrangement is an arrangement that stands up anywhere in the world because the arrangement is very similar to what we do make with our own local doctors and service providers generally to the government of St. Kitts and Nevis. Their salaries are paid directly to them into their accounts,” Dr Douglas said during a March press conference.
Several regional leaders have criticized the U.S. stance, citing Cuba’s role in bolstering their healthcare systems. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has been among the most vocal defenders.
"Barbados does not currently have Cuban medical staff or Cuban nurses, but I will be the first to go to the line and to tell you that we could not get through the (Covid-19) pandemic without the Cuban nurses and the Cuban doctors,” Mottley told Parliament in March.
During a visit to the Caribbean earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempted to draw a distinction between medical cooperation and labor rights concerns.
“ I think the first thing is to separate the medical from the labor issues that we are pointing to. This is not about doctors. This is not about the provision of medical assistance. We have no problem with medical assistance and we don’t have a problem with doctors. We have a problem – and I’m not speaking about Jamaica; they’ve – they’re – we discussed this today about following international labor standards and the like. But I’m just talking about this program in general, how it’s operated around the world,” he told reporters during a press conference on his visit to Jamaica.
The Government of Grenada says it is handling the situation “with the utmost responsibility” and in the best interest of the nation.
