Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, criticized the political situation on the Island.
14ymedio / EFE, Castries, February 27, 2026 – The Prime Minister of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia, Philip J. Pierre, stated this Thursday that Cuba’s medical missions in the Caribbean are “very important,” after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the annual conference of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) being held in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
“Saint Lucia has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Cuba with regard to medical professionals. Many of our young people have studied in Cuba. Therefore, it is a very important issue for us. As a region, we have our own problems that we must resolve,” Pierre said at a press conference.
The Saint Lucian leader thus joined other Caribbean leaders who reject the fact that the United States is pressuring them to end Cuban medical missions in their countries.
The Saint Lucian leader thus joined other Caribbean leaders who reject the fact that the United States is pressuring them to end Cuban medical missions in their countries.
In his view, “the conference will only lead to strengthening relations between the United States and Caricom,” and the controversy over Cuban medical services in the region will be resolved “in a friendly manner.” Pierre asserted that Caricom leaders have “never had a consensus on any foreign policy issue.”
At the beginning of this month, Pierre said there would be no “imminent withdrawal” of Saint Lucian students studying medicine in Cuba, after the U.S. Embassy in the region denied having demanded that the Caribbean country prohibit its nationals from pursuing health studies in Havana, as had previously been suggested.
“The United States has not recently spoken with Saint Lucia about international education and respects the sovereign decisions of countries regarding the education of their citizens. The United States continues to call for an end to exploitation and forced labor in the overseas medical missions program of the illegitimate Cuban regime,” they said.
During the opening ceremony of the Caricom summit on Tuesday night, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, criticized the political situation in Cuba and called for free and fair elections and a democratic regime.
For his part, Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, said at the start of the conference that Caricom must “address the situation in Cuba with clarity and courage” and that “it is important to consider this matter carefully and take collective action.”
“Jamaica is firmly in favor of democracy, human rights, political accountability, and an economy based on an open market. We do not believe that long-term stability can exist where economic freedom is restricted and political participation limited,” Holness stated.
For his part, the current president of Caricom, Terrance Drew, called on member countries to join forces to “design the necessary mechanisms to help the people of Cuba at this particular moment,” because the community can provide assistance “directly and become a forum for dialogue.”
Several Caricom countries, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, have yielded to Washington’s pressure.
Several Caricom countries, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, have yielded to Washington’s pressure to end medical cooperation projects with the Island.
The U.S. government has denounced that these missions involve the “coercion” of healthcare professionals, who are sent to work in third countries under opaque contracts, with low salaries and severe restrictions on their freedom.
The United States announced the revocation of visas for officials who cooperate with these agreements and, in fact, has taken action against some of them.
Honduras and Guatemala have also canceled their agreements with the Island, and now Italy is also in Washington’s sights for this reason.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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