Government charts the way forward with Cuban doctors

Cuban doctors, nurses and other medical professionals will be able to continue serving Belize under individual employment contracts, as Belize and Cuba agree not to renew the longstanding Medical Brigade arrangement. Government says the Ministry of Health and Wellness will contract each professional directly to maintain the delivery of medical services.  The announcement follows months of discussions over how to retain Cuban personnel while reviewing the agreement under which brigade members have served Belize since 1990. It also comes against the backdrop of sustained United States pressure on countries participating in Cuba’s overseas medical programme.  In August, Foreign Affairs Minister Francis Fonseca said Belize was exploring arrangements that would allow Cuban medical professionals to remain through work permits or permanent residency. Speaking on August 5, he outlined the ministry’s position following discussions between Prime Minister John Briceño and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs: “My position still remains, and our position at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs still remains that we believe that there is an opportunity for us to keep, certainly, elements and members of the brigade. How we do that, how we structure that, is still under discussion. But I am hopeful that we can work out some arrangement which allows doctors, nurses, other medical professionals, Cuban medical professionals, to get work permits or permanent residence status, something of that nature.”

The diplomatic pressure dates back to February 2025, when Washington expanded visa restrictions to cover officials, including foreign government officials, linked to Cuban overseas labour programmes that the United States alleges involve forced labour. In June that year, Washington announced restrictions against several Central American officials. Those announcements did not publicly identify the officials concerned.  Caribbean governments have challenged Washington’s characterisation of the medical missions, arguing that Cuban personnel provide essential services their health systems cannot easily replace. Regional foreign ministers raised those concerns with U.S. officials, while some governments reviewed employment and payment arrangements.  In Belize, Cabinet directed the Foreign Affairs and Health ministries to examine alternatives. By June 2026, Foreign Affairs Chief Executive Officer Oscar Arnold was stressing that any change had to account for the doctors, nurses, specialists and technicians serving the country, particularly in rural communities. He warned against leaving a gap in healthcare delivery.

Ambassador Oscar Arnold, CEO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “We know that at every instance, the Government of Belize, again through the Prime Minister, through the Foreign Minister, has stated that this program provides much-needed technicians, much-needed doctors. And so, whatever decision is made, something will have to be in place to ensure that there is not a big vacuum or that there is not a big void that remains in our medical system. We still need to ensure that we can provide the delivery of service. This current iteration of the medical brigade expanded and started with the onset of the COVID pandemic. I know that the doctors at the time, who had spent between 10 to 11 months there, returned, and then a new brigade came. And so, I mean, everyone knows that we have doctors, we have nurses, we have specialists. Some of them are placed in rural areas, and we have to ensure that these poor and depressed communities aren’t adversely affected and don’t have medical services.”

By September 23, Health Minister Kevin Bernard confirmed that Belize had submitted a proposal to Cuba to employ the professionals individually and was awaiting a response. In October, Fonseca said discussions were nearing a resolution. Other Caribbean countries have taken similar steps. Jamaica ended its previous bilateral arrangement earlier this year after negotiations over revised terms failed. Its government offered individual employment under Jamaican labour laws, and by October reported that it had re-engaged one hundred and fifty-seven Cuban medical professionals, in addition to forty-three who had remained under individual contracts.