Visa Bans Hit Brazilian Officials in Cuban Medical Row
Washington: The U.S. Department of State has announced visa revocations and restrictions, targeting Brazilian, African, Cuban, and Grenadian government officials, former Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) officials, and their immediate family members for their roles in the Cuban regime’s coercive labour export scheme. The measures focus on the exploitation of Cuban medical professionals through Brazil’s Mais Médicos programme and similar international medical missions, which the U.S. alleges enrich the Cuban government while depriving its citizens of essential healthcare.
The U.S. actions reflect criticism of Brazil’s past cooperation with Cuba and its current judicial policies, while Brazil’s alignment with China and BRICS nations signals resistance to U.S. pressure.
The visa restrictions exacerbate strained U.S.-Brazil relations, already tense due to U.S. tariffs of up to 50% on Brazilian goods and sanctions on a Brazilian Supreme Court judge involved in prosecuting former President Jair Bolsonaro for post-2022 election actions.
The State Department revoked the visas of Mozart Julio Tabosa Sales and Alberto Kleiman, former Brazilian Ministry of Health officials, for their involvement in planning and implementing the Mais Médicos program under President Dilma Rousseff’s administration (2011-2016). Launched in 2013 to address healthcare shortages in Brazil’s remote and impoverished areas, the program contracted over 10,000 Cuban doctors through PAHO, allegedly bypassing Brazilian constitutional requirements and evading U.S. sanctions on Cuba. The U.S. claims that payments owed to Cuban doctors were diverted to the Cuban regime, with dozens of doctors reporting exploitation, including forced labour, coercive contracts, restricted freedoms, and minimal compensation.
The actions come amid strained U.S.-Brazil relations, marked by recent tariffs and sanctions, signalling heightened diplomatic tensions. Brazil’s Health Minister Alexandre Padilha defended the programme, calling the U.S. actions “unjustifiable attacks” and emphasising its life-saving impact and public support.
The State Department also imposed visa restrictions on unnamed African, Cuban, and Grenadian government officials and their families for complicity in Cuba’s broader medical mission scheme. Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Cuba has deployed medical professionals to less-developed nations, generating significant foreign currency, with host countries paying high fees, most of which are retained by Cuban authorities. The U.S. labels this as forced labour, noting that it deprives Cuba’s 9.7 million citizens of medical resources amid an economic crisis, with the country unable to afford $300 million for critical medicine imports in 2024.
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio rejected the U.S. allegations, stating on X that Cuba’s medical programmes are “absolutely legitimate” and alleviate suffering, treating millions in over 3,600 Brazilian municipalities.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, of Cuban heritage, stated that the visa actions promote accountability for those enabling Cuba’s coercive labour practices, urging governments to pay Cuban doctors directly to ensure fair compensation. The State Department called on nations supporting democracy and human rights to confront these abuses, affirming its commitment to further actions to end such practices.
The measures build on a February 2025 expansion of visa restrictions targeting Cuban labour programmes, which now include government officials, private sector beneficiaries, intermediaries, and their families across various sectors.
The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba praised the U.S. measures, highlighting their role in addressing labour exploitation. No specific details were provided on the number of individuals affected or the African countries involved.
– global bihari bureau
