Kingston (Jamaica) (AFP) – Jamaica on Wednesday rebuffed a push by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to sever a program that brings in Cuban doctors, who have become critical to health care in fellow Caribbean countries despite allegations of labor exploitation.
Donald Trump's top diplomat held talks on the sidelines of a Caribbean summit aimed in part at finding new ideas on violence-ravaged Haiti, with host Jamaica saying it would help the new US administration in a "global war on gangs."
But Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness made clear his differences with Rubio on the doctors, who are sent by Cuba around the world and have become a major source of revenue for the cash-strapped government.
Rubio, a Cuban-American and vociferous foe of the communist government in Havana, announced last month that the Trump administration would bar visas for foreign government officials who assist the program, which he characterized as human trafficking.
"Let us be clear, the Cuban doctors in Jamaica have been incredibly helpful to us," Holness said at a joint news conference with Rubio.
He said that the 400 Cuban doctors in the country filled a deficit as Jamaican health workers emigrated.
"We are, however, very careful not to exploit the Cuban doctors who are here. We ensure that they are treated within our labor laws and benefit like any other worker," Holness said.
"So any characterization of the program by others certainly would not be applicable to Jamaica."
Rubio promised to engage with Jamaica to have a "better understanding" of how it treats Cuban doctors.
"Perhaps none of this applies in the way it's handled here," Rubio said.
But Rubio said the United States remained opposed "in general" to the program.
"The regime does not pay these doctors, takes away their passports and basically, it is, in many ways, forced labor, and that we cannot be in support of," Rubio said.
The US special envoy on Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Caron, has also credited Barbados with taking steps to pay Cuban directors directly.
Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne earlier this month sharply denounced the US pressure, saying the absence of Cuban doctors would "literally dismantle our healthcare services and put our people at risk."
According to Cuban official figures, Cuba sent 22,632 medical professionals to 57 countries in 2023, with Cuba earning $6.3 billion in 2018 and $3.9 billion in 2020, in part in the form of oil from Venezuela.