The country follows in the footsteps of Guatemala, Antigua and Barbuda, as well as Guyana and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Government of Honduras has ended the agreement with Cuban doctors promoted two years ago by then-president Xiomara Castro, an ally of the Island’s regime. Communications Secretary José Augusto Argueta confirmed that the departure of the specialists was due to a “foreign policy decision.”
At the same time, National Party congresswoman and vice president of the National Congress, Johana Bermúdez, stated on Monday that the Government would push for an investigation into the group to determine whether they were truly healthcare workers. “That political relationship brought in a large number of personnel, and we never knew whether they were doctors, nurses, or spies,” she said in an interview with HCH Noticias.
The departure of the specialists has generated uncertainty among the population, who fear for the continuity of the Operation Miracle program in ophthalmology clinics run by Cuban specialists. José Augusto Argueta clarified that “the centers will not close.” Regarding one center that was not providing services, he said this “could be due to political pressure.”
Likewise, the secretary specified that the five centers—“one in Siguatepeque, two in Santa Bárbara (Colinas and Arada), one in Catacamas, and another in the Central District”—are active and will be operated by Honduran doctors.
For his part, Deputy Health Minister Eduardo Midence said that work is underway on “hiring Honduran or foreign doctors duly accredited by the Medical Association.”
The AFP news agency reported the departure of 128 Cuban specialists. On Monday, doctors from the Island who had been providing services at an ophthalmology clinic bid farewell to residents of San José de Colinas, in the department of Santa Bárbara. “We are leaving knowing that we cared for you, that we worked for you, and hopefully we will return. This is our farewell,” said one of the physicians.
According to Gonzalo Valerio, a member of the Honduras-Cuba Friendship Association aligned with the regime, the specialists are waiting for a charter flight to be arranged to take them back to the Island in early March.
Honduras follows the path of Guatemala, Antigua and Barbuda, as well as Guyana and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which ended their medical cooperation projects with the Island after pressure from Washington. Last June, the United States announced the revocation of visas for Honduran officials from the Health Secretariat (Sesal) and the Strategic Planning Secretariat.
The U.S. government has dnounced that these missions involve the “coercion” of healthcare professionals, who are sent to work in third countries under opaque contracts, with low wages and severe restrictions on their freedom.
Congresswoman Johana Bermúdez added that the country transferred significant sums of money to Cuba through the so-called medical brigades, a scheme that, she said, had been questioned at the time. “We denounced it as the opposition, and so did the Honduran Medical Association (CMH),” which also argued that the doctors lacked proper accreditation to practice in the country and that the Organic Law of the Medical Association was being violated.
Two years ago, the CMH stated that the Honduran government paid the Island $2,000 per doctor, in addition to providing them with housing, a vehicle, and food.
The presence of Cuban doctors in Honduras began in 1998, after Hurricane Mitch. As part of its relationship with the Island, the Central American government also agreed to send 170 general practitioners to the Island to train in one of the 23 specialties offered by Cuban universities.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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