While maintaining that The Bahamas does not engage in forced labor, Prime Minister Philip Davis today acknowledged that a portion of the Cuban medical professionals’ salaries goes to an agency in Cuba.
The prime minister added that the arrangement is being reviewed. However, he said he thought the arrangement was reasonable. The Cubans were hired by the Ministry of Health to fill critical gaps in the healthcare sector.
Questions about the matter arose after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced visa sanctions against governments that are part of Cuba’s overseas medical missions.
Rubio described Cuba’s overseas medical program as forced labor and said the new US policy will affect government officials who are “responsible for, or involved in, the Cuban labor export program”.
“As far as I’m aware, only the medical professionals, a portion of their salary is sent to an agency in Cuba,” Davis told reporters when asked about the issue.
“I don’t know the relationship between that agency and the government of Cuba, but we are now looking into that.”
The PM said before professionals from Cuba are brought into the country, a team from the government travels to Cuba to conduct interviews.
“That has been the case,” he said. “We will not intentionally or willingly engage in matters that amount to forced labor.