Latest update June 14th, 2025 12:49 AM
Recruitment of healthcare professionals not confined to Cuba – Jagdeo
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
…says Govt. will ensure Cubans meet requirements stipulated by US
Kaieteur News – Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has clarified that the healthcare workers his government is looking to recruit will not be confined to just Cuba. He also said that government will ensure the recruitment process meets the requirements recently set out by the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
The Vice President was asked on Thursday at his weekly press conference by the media if Cuban workers would be recruited as part of government’s efforts to source staff for the new hospitals from overseas. Jagdeo told reporters, “We’re recruiting people from around the world, not confined to Cuba, but we’re working to ensure that the people who come here, that they meet the definition because of what the US Secretary of State mentioned, and the conditions of work here don’t run afoul of the requirements set by the United States of America…”
He confirmed that the recruitment will be done worldwide, and there will be persons from other countries apart from Cuba. Additionally, government is also looking to get more Guyanese to work in the hospitals as well, hence the expansion in training programmes.
On February 25, 2025, the United States Department of State, through Rubio, announced that there will be an expansion of the visa restriction policy for persons exploiting Cuban labour. Rubio said, “Today, we announce the expansion of an existing Cuba-related visa restriction policy that targets labour linked to the Cuban labour export program. This expanded policy applies to current or former Cuban government officials and other individuals, including foreign government officials, who are believed to be responsible for, or involved in, the Cuban labour export program, particularly Cuba’s overseas medical missions. This policy also applies to the immediate family of such persons. The Department has already taken steps to impose visa restrictions on several individuals, including Venezuelans, under this expanded policy.”
Further, the Secretary of State said that Cuba profits from the “forced labour of its workers, and the regime’s abusive and coercive labour practices are well documented.” “Cuba’s labour 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. The United States is committed to countering forced labour practices around the globe. To do so, we must promote accountability not just for Cuban officials responsible for these policies, but also those complicit in the exploitation and forced labour of Cuban workers.”
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