Mexican President Sheinbaum says she will uphold Cuban doctor agreement as other countries dip out
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico will continue to employ Cuban doctors in the country, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday, at a time when other nations in the Americas are abandoning agreements with the Cuban government in the face of growing U.S. pressure.
“This is a bilateral agreement that is very helpful to Mexico,” Sheinbaum said at a morning news conference when asked whether he would keep the deal or bow to pressure from the Trump administration.
The leader’s support for the Cuban medical program comes as US President Donald Trump seeks to strangle Cuba by effectively cutting off the island from oil imports and isolate the Caribbean nation to pressure for regime change. US presses to end such missions with Secretary of State Marco Rubio they call it “a form of human trafficking.”
Asked for a response Wednesday, the White House pointed to a June statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in which the administration announced restrictions on various Central American officials with ties to Cuba’s “forced labor scheme.” Rubio said at the time that the restrictions “promote accountability for those who support and perpetuate these exploitative practices.”
A number of Latin American and Caribbean countries Honduras And Jamaica They abruptly closed the missions and sent Cuban doctors home.
Cuba’s practice of assigning doctors – often highly capable of providing care with scarce resources – is often a tool of diplomacy, but has been around for a long time. criticized by the US government. However, Cuban doctors played an important role In rural areas of Latin America, such as the Amazon and parts of Central America, that lack basic medical infrastructure.
Sheinbaum defended the program on Wednesday, saying “we cannot forget” all the help Cuban doctors have provided during the COVID-19 pandemic and in rural areas across the country. It is unclear exactly how many Cuban doctors are currently working in Mexico.
“It is difficult to get Mexican doctors and specialists to go to many rural areas where we need medical professionals, and Cubans are willing to work there,” he said.
Sheinbaum’s defense of the program appears to run counter to the Trump administration’s efforts; At the same time, the Mexican leader has had to walk a fine line with Washington to balance Trump’s threat of military action against Mexican cartels.
Mexico has been a fierce defender of Cuba since the country’s revolution. It has been sending oil shipments to Cuba for years to help prevent a deeper energy crisis on the island. But Sheinbaum’s government halted those shipments after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country sending oil to Cuba. Instead, the Mexican government sent aid shipments and tried to help in other ways.
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Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.
