Cuban medical delegations have long become one of the international diplomatic tools, and also an important source of income for Cuba.
According to some studies cited by The New York Times, Cuba earns billions of USD each year from exporting professional services, including medical experts.
In the latest developments, Guatemala recently announced that it will change the agreement, according to which the Cuban doctor program, operating for nearly 30 years in this Central American country, will gradually be eliminated. According to Prensa Libre newspaper, "replacement of personnel from the Cuban island nation will be carried out step by step".
The Guatemalan Ministry of Health said that part of the vacancy left by 412 Cuban doctors will be filled by medical students who are completing their residency program.
In Honduras, the government decided not to extend the medical cooperation agreement allowing Cuban doctors to work here. According to Cuba Headlines news site, 128 Cuban medical staff will leave when the agreement expires.
Honduran Deputy Minister of Health Eduardo Midence said that Cuban doctors will be replaced by domestic medical staff or foreign experts who have been granted valid practicing certificates.
In Guyana, Health Minister Frank Anthony said that the Cuban government has decided to withdraw the medical delegation after discussions with Georgetown, ending a cooperation program lasting more than 48 years.
After the Cuban medical team leaves, Guyana will allow Cuban doctors and nurses to work independently in the country if they are certified by local health authorities.
Brazil is considered a notable precedent in the context of many developments related to Cuba's medical mission. The Mais Médicos program was heavily dependent on Cuban doctors until 2018, when Havana withdrew thousands of doctors after policy changes in Brazil. At that time, Cuba opposed the new regulations related to the income and qualifications of Cuban doctors. The end of the program in Brazil at that time marked one of the largest Cuban medical military withdrawals from a foreign country.
Paraguay has also suspended the medical cooperation memorandum signed with Cuba in December 2024, an agreement that was once expected to restore medical cooperation programs between the two countries.
In Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, the government recently announced a plan to reduce dependence on Cuban medical staff within the framework of a long-term strategy to localize medical human resources.
Prime Minister Godwin Friday said that the country will implement a plan to gradually withdraw regional doctors from Cuba within 3 years, with reasons including language barriers in patient care and the cost of maintaining foreign medical staff.
However, Cuba's medical missions abroad are still operating in many Latin American and Caribbean countries, especially in countries lacking medical personnel.
Cuban doctor programs are still operating in countries such as Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, and many other Caribbean countries such as Barbados, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Antigua & Barbuda.
In many of these countries, Cuban doctors play an important role in rural areas and areas lacking medical services, where the local health system often lacks human resources.
