Officials from The Bahamas met with United States representatives, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on Tuesday in Washington DC to discuss the island nation's use of Cuban medical professionals. The talks came as a recently leaked contract appears to show the Cuban government retaining most of the payments made by The Bahamas for these services, aligning with US allegations of forced labor and human trafficking.
According to details from the contract, the Bahamian government pays significant monthly fees to Cuba's state-run Trading Company of Cuba’s Medical Services for the workers. However, the Cuban professionals — including medical specialists, engineers, and data specialists — receive only a small fraction as a personal stipend paid directly by Bahamian authorities. For example, a specialist might cost The Bahamas $12,000 per month but receive only $1,200. Technical staff cost $5,000 monthly but receive around $990. This leaves the communist-ruled island's entity collecting between 83.9% and 91.6% of the funds.
The US State Department has designated Cuba on its blacklist for inadequate efforts against human trafficking, citing the medical missions as a form of forced labor. Secretary Rubio has expanded visa restrictions on Cuban officials involved in these missions and also applied them to third-country officials who contract the services under these terms. Rubio has publicly described these missions as an "atrocious practice".
Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis, who led the delegation, has previously acknowledged that a portion of the doctors' salaries goes to a Cuban agency. Following the leak, he stated he was talking to the Cuban government about the matter. Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell questioned the motives behind the contract leak, suggesting it could be an effort to influence national policy.
Bahamian Health Minister Michael Darville has stated that the services provided by the Cuban workers are needed in the country. He told the Nassau Guardian newspaper that the Foreign Affairs Ministry was in talks with US counterparts seeking clarity on the issue, pushing back on the notion of forced labor. He recently met Cuban Public Health Minister José Angel Portal in Havana to discuss health cooperation and expanding services.
The leaked contract also includes provisions that give the Cuban entity legal authority over the professionals, allows Cuba to withdraw doctors at any time, and stipulates that The Bahamas remains liable for payments even if foreign governments attempt to prevent performance of the agreement. This language appears designed to protect Cuba's financial interests against external pressure.
Organizations like Cuba Archive, which published the leaked contract, monitor Cuba's medical missions abroad. The US State Department has recognized the group's work and honored its group’s director, MarÃa Werlau. Cuba reportedly generates over $4.9 billion annually from exporting medical services. Cuba Archive has developed a protocol for foreign officials to identify potential trafficking victims and advocates for governments to hire doctors directly.
Werlau asserts that governments should hire Cuban doctors directly "as they do with any other foreign doctor who comes to practice in their country. They should pay them directly. The doctors should be able to bring their families. They should not be subject to all these restrictions through an intermediary that is a dictatorship."
