Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1784857829402Screen Shot 2026-07-24 at 9.49.46 AM.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A man looks at Cuba&#x27;s President Miguel Diaz-Canel speaking on the National Television, in Havana on February 5, 2026. Cuba is prepared to hold dialogue with the United States but not under pressure, President Miguel Diaz-Canel insisted Thursday after months of threats from US President Donald Trump. <em>Photo by Yamil Lage/AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>WASHINGTON, United States — New US sanctions announced on Thursday targeted Cuba&#x27;s decades-old international medical missions program, which sends doctors to dozens of countries and earns the island billions in revenue.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/7/10/cuban-lives-cut-short-as-health-system-flatlines-1615">Cuban lives cut short as health system flatlines</a></div><p>The sanctions targeted government enterprises associated with the program as well as Cuban Health Minister Jose Angel Portal Miranda.</p><p>The move is the latest by US President Donald Trump&#x27;s government to tighten a stranglehold on the communist-run island in recent months.</p><p>Washington has also imposed a blockade on vital fuel and other supplies, with Trump threatening to &quot;take over&quot; the island after he ousted Venezuela&#x27;s leader in January.</p><p>In a statement on Thursday, the State Department said Cuba&#x27;s overseas medical missions program amounted to &quot;forced labor&quot; and &quot;human trafficking.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Cuban officials exploit inherently coercive laws and economic conditions to manipulate or compel workers to join and remain in labor export programs, while confiscating between 50 and 95 percent of the wages paid by receiving countries,&quot; the statement said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/7/21/us-accuses-cuba-of-sweeping-spy-campaign-aiding-american-left-0920">US accuses Cuba of sweeping spy campaign, aiding American left</a></div><p>According to official figures, around 24,000 Cuban doctors and other healthcare professionals were deployed in 56 countries in 2025.</p><p>Most are sent to remote areas, with Havana touting the program as offering aid to less developed countries in the Global South.</p><p>Half were deployed to Venezuela, Cuba&#x27;s top ally for a quarter of a century before the violent January ouster of socialist president Nicolas Maduro by US forces.</p><p>The program was projected to generate $7 billion in earnings for the cash-strapped island last year.</p><p>Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez defended the medical missions, calling them &quot;a humane and fraternal service.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The attack against Cuba&#x27;s medical cooperation tantamounts to an aggression against the human right of hundreds of thousands of persons in many parts of the world to have access to health services,&quot; Rodriguez wrote Thursday on X.</p><p>According to official Cuban statistics cited in an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report, doctors enrolled in Cuba&#x27;s program receive between 2.5 percent and 25 percent of what countries pay Havana for their services.</p><p>The Trump administration had already exerted pressure on the program earlier this year, with Cuba&#x27;s foreign minister accusing Washington of &quot;extorting&quot; several Latin American countries that canceled their medical assistance deals with Havana.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5VQAiU1gGas?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2aoaYOid0xo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>New US sanctions announced on Thursday targeted Cuba's decades-old international medical missions program, which sends doctors to dozens of countries and earns the island billions in revenue.</p>

New US sanctions announced on Thursday targeted Cuba's decades-old international medical missions program, which sends doctors to dozens of countries and earns the island billions in revenue.

New US sanctions target Cuban international medical missions

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New US sanctions target Cuban international medical missions

Agence France-Presse

Published July 24, 2026 09:51 AM PHT

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Agence France-Presse

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