The State Department announced on Tuesday that “several” Central American government officials, who the U.S. government says are linked to Cuba’s medical mission program, will face visa restrictions.
The government officials, who were not named, are responsible for the Cuban medical mission programs, which include elements of forced labor and exploitation of the country’s workers, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“These steps promote accountability for those who support and perpetuate these exploitative practices,” Rubio said in a statement on Tuesday. “The Cuban labor export program abuses the participants, enriches the corrupt Cuban regime and deprives everyday Cubans of essential medical care that they desperately need in their homeland.”
The restrictions also apply to family members of government officials.
The State Department rolled out additional visa restrictions in late February on any current or former Cuban government official who is responsible or involved in the country’s labor program that sends workers, particularly those in healthcare, overseas.
“Cuba continues to profit from the forced labor of its workers and the regime’s abusive and coercive labor practices are well documented,” Rubio said at the time. “Cuba’s labor export programs, which include the medical missions, enrich the Cuban regime, and in the case of Cuba’s overseas medical missions, deprive ordinary Cubans of the medical care they desperately need in their home country.”
Cuba has sent doctors around the world for decades. Defectors and human rights advocates have long warned that the program generates revenue for the government by charging for the individuals’ services, but the medical professionals only end up getting a small portion.
Last year, the Biden administration accused Cuba of profiting from forced labor, something that the communist nation has long denied.
“Our goal is to support the Cuban people in their pursuit of freedom and dignity, all while promoting accountability for those who contribute to a forced labor scheme,” Rubio said on Tuesday.
Shortly after taking office, President Trump reinstated Cuba on the government’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.
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