USA restricts visas to Cuban medical mission officials abroad
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- Published: Tuesday, 01 October 2019 14:15
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Photo: CadenagramonteHavana, Oct. 1 - The US Department of State reported that it imposed visa restrictions on Cuban officials linked to the medical missions program abroad, in another attack against the Caribbean country.
According to a report from Prensa Latina from Washington, the Donald Trump administration, which for months has lashed out at one of the most important solidarity programs in the Caribbean country, justified the measure by arguing that these people are responsible for “certain labor practices of exploitation and coercion ”.
Despite the worldwide recognition of the work performed by Cuban health professionals in the most varied regions of the world and its voluntary nature, the State Department mentioned in a statement, without reference to evidence, that participants in those missions work long hours without rest, have poor salaries and insecure housing.
Through this statement, the federal entity called a program praised by international organizations "fundamentally flawed," and called on the nations with which the island cooperates to guarantee safeguards against what Washington refers to as alleged "abuse and labor exploitation."
At the end of last July, the State Department reported for the first time that it would impose visa restrictions against Cuban officials related to health cooperation abroad, an action that, it said then, could also affect officials´families.
Last month, though, the United States Agency for International Development announced that it was offering up to three million dollars to organizations that "would investigate, collect and analyze information" related to alleged violations of human rights of Cuban health personnel.
In all its pronouncements against the renowned Cuban program, the Trump administration never mentions the severe damage caused to the Cuban health secotr by US-imposed blockade.
The Permanent Mission of Cuba to the UN indicated in a statement on Monday that from April 2018 to March the siege caused losses in that area by more than 104 million dollars, a figure that exceeds the impact of the previous year by more than six million. (Cadenagramonte)
