The newspaper ‘El Universal’ has obtained official information through the transparency portal
14ymedio, Madrid, June 18, 2025 — In just two years, the amount of money paid by Mexico to Cuba for health services has increased by 70.3 million euros. According to information published this Tuesday by El Universal, the total amount corresponding to contracts signed between July 2022 and May 2025 amounts to 92,525,569 euros, a quantitative jump from the last time data were collected, when the amount was 23 million euros.
The Mexican newspaper has again requested transparency about the available contracts and has analyzed them in a way that can be consulted openly on the Compras MX platform. In 2024, the same media published information corresponding to three contracts -between July 2022 and May 2023- for which the Cuban government would send 610 doctors to rural areas in Mexico, although the new documents indicate that the number was actually 809. Of these, according to an investigation, 48 escaped.
The new data show a very high amount, although not all of the money goes to the salaries. It is not known what part will be paid to the Cuban government’s Service Commercialization Agency, since the amount is the total corresponding to the transportation and maintenance of the health personnel. The service includes chauffeured transportation to medical units, safe and permanent lodging, “special diets delivered three times a day” – presumably for meals – and 24-hour personal care.
The new data show a very high amount, although not all of the money goes to salaries
The information provided by the Mexican Institute of Social Security for Welfare (IMSS-Bienestar) gives a account of the three known agreements, according to which the doctors were distributed in 15 Mexican states: Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Hidalgo, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz and Zacatecas.
According to a contract accessible on the Compras MX platform, the IMSS-Bienestar paid in pesos the equivalent of 12.5 million euros to nine Mexican companies for the “services of lodging, food and ground transportation for health personnel.” The number of beneficiaries varies by state, between four and 40 members, distributed in Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Mexico, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Sinaloa, Puebla, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán and Zacatecas.
Another contract, starting on April 1 and ending on May 31, 2025, provides for payment in pesos of about 53 million euros more to five Mexican companies for the same reasons, and in this case for doctors assigned to a total of 24 states. What is striking here is the quantity, since the number of healthcare personnel ranges from 1,966 at the least to 4,845 at the most.
El Universal gives details about the entire process of installing the doctors from the time of their arrival in Mexico to when they are transferred to the destination unit. If it is far away, they are expected to have guaranteed transport seven days a week, 24 hours a day, at alternate times and on mixed dates. If necessary, the doctors are relocated.
As for accommodation, it can be temporary or permanent and must be no more than one kilometer from their work center. Lodging includes hotels, houses, single rooms for those who go alone or shared rooms for couples. It also specifies the equipment of the accommodation, which must have supplies – electricity, water, gas and sanitation – in addition to one bed per person, a closet, washing machine, microwave, sofa, TV, sink, bathroom, desk, stove, refrigerator and table with two chairs.
The provider must also guarantee three meals a day and customer care -in person, by telephone or email- for management and the health personnel
The provider must also guarantee three meals a day and customer care -in person, by telephone or email- for management and the health personnel.
The newspaper reports that the US has recently taken measures against officials who facilitate Cuban medical missions, considering them a form of labor exploitation and indentured servitude. This is based on the fact that the Cuban Government keeps between 70% and 95% of the salaries paid out for the health workers. According to the sanctions introduced by US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, foreigners who facilitate these contracts will remain without a visa to enter the United States.
These and other measures of pressure have led the Government of the Bahamas to announce the termination of contracts with the Government of Cuba. As announced on Monday by the Bahamian Minister of Health, Michael Darville, Cubans interested in staying will “sign a new employment contract,” a solution that, according to Archivo Cuba, would not be enough if the regime in Havana forces them to “donate” their wages to the State.*
*Note from Translating Cuba: Added clarity on what this might mean, from Reuters: “June 16 (Reuters) – The Bahamas is preparing to cancel contracts with Cuban healthcare professionals after discussions with the U.S. government, Bahamian Health Minister Michael Darville said in a parliamentary address on Monday. Darville said his ministry would enter into direct employment contracts with Cuban healthcare professionals in the Bahamas. ’Those who are not interested in this new arrangement will be given time to wrap up their affairs and return to Cuba,’ Darville said.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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