FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Exposing the Cuban Regime’s Dark Trade: Rep. Green Leads Bipartisan Anti-Trafficking Resolution
WASHINGTON—Rep. Mark Green (TN-07) re-introduced a bipartisan Congressional Resolution denouncing the Cuban regime’s human trafficking, forced labor, and profiteering from its own medical personnel serving around the world. The Trump administration recently announced an expansion of visa restrictions on officials tied to this heinous labor program.
Rep. Green said, “A year after I introduced this resolution, the Cuban regime continues to traffic its medical personnel around the world. The regime has infringed upon the fundamental rights of healthcare workers for years. This modern-day slavery must come to an end. I’m grateful for the Trump administration’s work to expand visa restrictions on the Cuban regime—and I hope this regime will continue to be held accountable.”
He continued, “We are standing up for Cuban healthcare workers to ensure they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. My resolution denounces Cuba’s medical brigade program and the Pan American Health Organization’s role in it. It also urges foreign governments to pay Cuban medical personnel directly to avoid exploitation.”
Maria Welau, Executive Director for the Cuba Archive stated, “We strongly support Congressman Green’s resolution and call for prioritizing visa restrictions on the Ministers of Health of governments trafficking medical workers in partnership with Cuba. Countries whose health systems need outside support can hire qualified Cuban professionals directly. Thousands have emigrated and welcome the opportunity.”
Dr. Eric Patterson, President and CEO, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation said, “Cuba’s so called ‘Medical Brigades’ are forced labor schemes masquerading as humanitarian assistance. Medical professionals are coerced to toil in harsh conditions, surveilled, and deprived of their rights, while the regime in Havana broadcasts this act of goodwill and lines their pockets with the stolen wages. Cubans deserve more than their communist oppressors. And that starts with calling out this communist scheme for what it really is—human trafficking.”
Read the resolution here.
This bill was cosponsored by Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL), Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).
This bill was endorsed by the Cuba Archive and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Background: For years, Cuban medical personnel have been forced to operate in countries around the world under coercion, often having their wages, credentials, and passports confiscated. In addition to this, many workers are subjected to surveillance and strict curfews, according to the U.S. State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Person Report. Many of these medical professionals work in extremely difficult conditions for up to sixty hours a week and are subject to reprisals for speaking out, including possible prison time. While many countries are paying these doctors just $125 to $325 per month, the doctors only keep 10-25 percent of that amount, according to the Harvard International Review.
- Read the 2023 letter Rep. Mark Green (TN-07), Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27), and Rep. Carlos Gimenez (FL-28) sent to the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) here.
- Read a letter Rep. Green and his fellow lawmakers sent to former President Biden urging him to implement a Cuba policy that holds the regime accountable for its human rights abuses and its support for other authoritarian regimes in the region.
- Read Rep. Green’s previous press release here.
- Read Rep. Mark Green’s op-ed on Cuba in the Miami Herald here.
- Read Rep. Green and Eric Patterson’s op-ed in The Hill here.
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