In what is shaping up to be an embarrassing snafu for St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip Pierre, the U.S. government has denied ever ordering St. Lucian authorities to abandon the Cuban medical brigade program, saying there have been no bilateral exchanges on the issue in recent months.
Through its mission in Barbados, which serves many of the smaller Eastern Caribbean island nations, the State Department said the island was exercising its sovereignty over issues like education for its citizens, but appeared to double down, saying it had not pressured the recently reelected administration of PM Philip on the issue.
Speaking at an international conference at the weekend, Pierre said that the U.S. had indicated that the traditional system of sending local students to study in Cuba should come to an end. He also appeared to suggest that Cuban doctors might not be able to practice in the country, also because of pressure from the U.S. The U.S. has raged against the payment system, calling it a form of forced labor and human trafficking because the Cuban government gets the majority of the monthly salaries of the professionals.
PM Pierre says the American edict will prevent major political headaches for authorities.
“Many of our doctors got trained in Cuba, and now the great U.S. has said we cannot do that any longer, so that is a major problem I have to face. Some of my colleagues (prime ministers) have already taken a position on this and banned them. So, the American government has said that we cannot even train them in Cuba, so I have a major issue on my hands.”
Replying directly to Pierre, the Barbados mission stated that “the U.S. has not recently talked to St. Lucia about international education and respects countries’ sovereign decisions regarding the education of their citizens. The United States continues to call for an end to exploitation and forced labor in the illegitimate Cuban regime’s overseas medical missions program,” the mission’s social media post stated.
The two positions have set the social media world alight, with many urging the PM to distinguish between actually banning the study program and amending the payment system to avoid allegations of forced labor and unfair labor practices.
Speaking on Monday to reporters, the PM said the future of the bilateral program is uncertain.
“Let’s not be hypocritical about it. The U.S. has said in no uncertain terms that they would prefer us not to have the Cuban medical brigade work in these islands. The fact is, the American government has problems with Cuban doctors working in these islands. That is a fact. This means that the entire medical situation exchange of doctors and students is under threat.”
