The United States government is considering imposing sweeping travel restrictions on citizens from several Caribbean nations, including Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts & Nevis, as part of a new ban related to concerns over human trafficking. The U.S. claims that these countries have been facilitating forced labour by participating in Cuba’s international medical missions, which the U.S. alleges are exploitative programs that benefit the Cuban regime.

The leaked internal memo, which has raised significant concerns across the region, indicates that the U.S. has given 22 countries, including Antigua & Barbuda, 60 days to address these security concerns. Failure to comply could lead to stricter visa regulations, travel bans, or other punitive measures.

Cuba, a key partner in providing healthcare services across the Caribbean, has been accused by the U.S. of using its international medical missions to engage in forced labour. The U.S. claims that Cuban doctors and nurses, sent abroad under these missions, are subjected to coercive labour practices, enriching the Cuban government at the expense of its workers. The U.S. has already imposed visa restrictions on officials linked to these programs, extending the measures to their immediate family members.

Antigua & Barbuda’s government has strongly refuted the allegations. Lionel Hurst, Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office, stated that while no official information had been received from the U.S., the possibility of such actions was not unexpected. He acknowledged the U.S. concerns, particularly after Cuba’s involvement in medical collaborations across the Caribbean was labeled as human trafficking by the U.S. However, Hurst assured that the Antiguan government was prepared to address the issue by ensuring that Cuban healthcare workers are directly paid their full salaries, should that be a point of contention.

Cuban officials have firmly rejected the accusations, describing them as part of a broader U.S. campaign to undermine Cuba’s international medical collaborations. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the U.S. report “manipulative,” asserting that Cuba has a strict zero-tolerance policy against human trafficking and accusing the U.S. of using such reports to hinder their global medical assistance programs.

For decades, Antigua & Barbuda has enjoyed a strong cooperative relationship with Cuba, especially in the fields of healthcare and education. Cuban medical professionals have provided essential healthcare services to Antiguans, especially in specialized areas with limited local expertise. Many students from Antigua also receive medical scholarships in Cuba, with a number returning home to serve in the local healthcare system.

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the United States should treat the Caribbean with more respect rather than threatening these nations over their survival. “If they were to take punitive action because of the presence of Cuban medical personnel in our healthcare systems, it would practically dismantle these systems across the region,” Browne said as he dismissed any notion that Antigua and Barbuda is involved in human trafficking through the use of Cuban doctors and nurses in its healthcare system.

Other Caribbean leaders have echoed this sentiment. Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Keith Rowley, expressed his readiness to forgo his U.S. visa if it meant continuing the essential healthcare services provided by Cuban professionals. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, similarly defended the presence of Cuban medical staff. “Does anybody expect because I want to keep a visa that I would let 60 persons from the poor and working people to die? It will never happen,” Gonsalves said.

Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley said while the country does not currently have Cuban medical nurses or staff, Barbados would have been unable to get through the COVID-19 pandemic without Cuban medical staff. “We paid them the same thing that we paid Bajans and that the notion, as was peddled, not just by this government within the US but by the previous government, that we were involved in human trafficking by engaging with the Cuban nurses was fully repudiated and rejected by us.”

“I am prepared, like others in this region, that if we cannot reach a sensible agreement on this matter, then if the cost of it is the loss of my visa to the U.S., then so be it.”