Cuba accuses US of ‘extorting’ Latin America in doctors row

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Cuba's foreign minister on Thursday accused the United States (US) of extorting Latin American countries by pressuring them to cancel decades-old deals with Havana for the supply of doctors.Bruno Rodriguez said the United States was trying to strangle the economy of the communist island, which earns billions from its foreign medical missions, after several countries stopped deploying Cuban doctors.Washington says the programme — a major source of pride, and income, in Cuba since the 1960s — amounts to forced labour.Countries seeking to maintain strong ties to President Donald Trump have started to yield to pressure to pull out.Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, and Guyana have all terminated their agreements with Cuba, which is teetering on the edge of economic collapse, partly due to a US energy blockade.The US Government is persecuting, pressuring and extorting other governments to end the presence of Cuban Medical Brigades in various countries, under false pretences, Rodriguez said on X.According to official figures, some 24,000 Cuban doctors and other healthcare professionals were deployed in 56 countries in 2025.