Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 February 2026, 18:09 by Writer
As Guyana and several other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) sever decades-long ties with the Cuban Medical Brigade over United States (US) concerns that the programme amounts to trafficking in persons, a community hospital in France wants Cuban doctors to work there to serve a hospital, the Cuban foreign ministry said on Monday.
The ministry said the Defense Committee of the Cévennes Hospital on Monday delivered to Second Chief of Mission of the Cuban Embassy in France, Justo Rodríguez a dossier proposing Franco-Cuban medical cooperation, whose fundamental objective is to achieve the arrival of Cuban doctors to the territory of the Cévennes, made up of several communes such as Alès, Ardèche, Lozère, Cendras and others.
“At a meeting organized by Sylvain André, mayor of Cendras, and Jean-Michel Suau, on behalf of the Hospital Defense Committee, the embassy representative reiterated Cuba’s willingness to respond positively to the request once the necessary legal and administrative conditions for such cooperation are in place in France,” the Cuban Foreign Ministry said.
Former French member of parliament André Chassaigne, who was also present at the meeting, reiterated that the project is in its initial phase and that a pilot program is underway in a few selected municipalities, the ministry added.
In the afternoon, according to the ministry, the Cuban representative was received by Christian Cataldo, general director of the Alès Cévenas Hospital Center (CHAC), and other officials, to tour the healthcare facility and discuss the potential implementation of medical cooperation at CHAC.
The meeting provided an opportunity to learn the necessary administrative details and discuss the various aspects of this project.
At the end of his program, the Cuban foreign ministry said the Cuban representative received expressions of political support and solidarity from the Gard Federation of the French Communist Party (PCF), led by Giovanni di Francesco, secretary of the Alès branch, in a meeting with several of its members and local representatives of solidarity associations, such as Cuba Cooperation France and France-Cuba.
Justo reportedly provided an update on the situation in Cuba, the impact of the recent economic austerity measures adopted by the U.S. government, and expressed his gratitude for the renewed support of several French solidarity groups.
Since the January 3, 2026 capture and arrest of Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro by US troops, vital fuel supplies from Venezuela has been cut and the Donald Trump administration has threatened to impose steep tariffs on any country that supplies fuel to Havana.
The US government has also threatened to revoke visas of government officials and their families if Cubans continue to be put into forced labour.
In its 2024 TIP Report on Cuba, the US State Department states that Cuban authorities employ workers through contracts with foreign governments and, in some countries, international organizations serve as intermediaries or provide funds for their work.
However, the US says the Cuban government confiscates between 75 and 95 percent of each worker’s salary, leaving government-affiliated workers with compensation that in many places is an inadequate living wage.
Officials retain a portion of each worker’s salary in Cuban bank accounts, and funds can only be paid to the workers when the mission has been successfully completed and the workers have returned to Cuba.
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