According to the Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica is ending its longstanding medical cooperation arrangement with Cuba, a move that is already creating uncertainty, delays, and concern within the health sector. Jamaica’s government has said the two sides could not agree on new terms and also pointed to labour and legal concerns in the existing arrangement. At the same time, the broader context is impossible to ignore: this decision comes amid intensified U.S. pressure on Cuba and Washington’s campaign against Cuba’s overseas medical missions.
In my view, this is not happening in a vacuum. The United States has been pushing countries to reconsider or sever ties with Cuba, including in the health sector, while accusing Cuba’s medical missions of forced labour—an allegation many Caribbean leaders have rejected. Reuters reported that Jamaica is the latest country to roll back medical cooperation with Cuba under pressure from the Trump administration, and similar disruptions are now being seen elsewhere in the region.
Guyana is also facing a similar problem. The Associated Press reported that Cuban doctors are preparing to leave Guyana after disputes over payment arrangements, again in a climate shaped by U.S. pressure and wider efforts to isolate Cuba. AP also noted that Jamaica, Honduras, and several other Caribbean countries have been reconsidering how these programmes are structured.
The Caribbean has long depended on Cuban medical personnel to help fill critical shortages, especially in underserved areas. So if Washington’s policy helps trigger the collapse of these partnerships, then the United States cannot wash its hands like Pontius Pilate and walk off stage. It has a responsibility to help address the gap its policy has helped create. If the U.S. wants Caribbean governments to end or reduce their medical ties with Cuba, then it should also help provide the doctors, nurses, training, and investment needed to protect healthcare in Jamaica and across the region.
Renaldo McKenzie is Author of Neoliberalism Globalization Income Inequality Poverty and Resistance and the upcoming book “Neoliberal Globalization Reconsidered, Unfair Competition and The Death of Nations.
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Additional Sources:
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20260310/cuban-exit-backup-plan
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/jamaica-end-medical-cooperation-program-with-cuba-local-media-says-2026-03-06/
https://apnews.com/article/cuba-doctors-guyana-jamaica-honduras-trump-4b90e73c333d0513d017ecce61929a6b
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