Caribbean leaders held an emergency virtual meeting on Friday to discuss the recent decision by the United States to impose visa restrictions on officials allegedly involved in the export of Cuban workers.
Asked about Guyana’s position on the matter during an event on Saturday, President Irfaan Ali stated that Guyana, alongside CARICOM, is seeking clarity and dialogue on the issue.
President Ali emphasised the importance of finding common ground with the US, while making it clear that “I don’t see abandoning Cuba as part of this equation.”
The restrictions were recently announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who asserted that Cuba profits significantly from what the US considers a “forced labour” programme, particularly involving doctors and other healthcare workers.
President Ali explained that Guyana employs foreign healthcare workers from Nigeria, India, and Cuba.
“All of that follows the local laws and international labour laws,” he said.
He further noted that Guyana has formally requested information from the US to better understand its position.
“We have also asked as a country for any information that would help us to understand the position of the US, and if there is any breach in relation to our system, we will endeavour to have those breaches looked at in accordance with our local law and international law,” the President stated.
The involvement of Cuban health workers varies across the region, with some Caribbean countries being heavily dependent on them. However, President Ali asserted that “what is clear is that the Cuban health workers are part of the regional health care system.”
He explained that the issue at hand is not about Cuba as a country, but rather the concerns raised by the US regarding Cuba’s health brigade system.
“…it is surrounding an issue and the US is contending that with the information before them, they don’t believe that the Cuban health brigade system is following the international best practices and laws,” President Ali stated.
However, President Ali added that the region is also facing an added challenge in healthcare.
“We are faced with an added challenge as a region and that is the recruitment of our own healthcare workers and that is because of the English language for the EU healthcare system, the UK, Canadian, US healthcare system.”
Caribbean countries, including Guyana, have maintained strong relations with Cuba and continue to advocate for improved US-Cuba relations. The US and Cuba have maintained a strained relationship for decades, ever since the Cuban revolution in the 1950s.
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