MIAMI, United States. – This April 17, the Cuban-American congressmen María Elvira Salazar and Carlos Giménez and the American Mark E. Green sent a letter Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), expressing his dismay at the tactics used by the organization to evade responsibility in the trafficking of thousands of Cuban health professionals as part of the program More Doctors, between 2013 and 2018.
The congressmen accuse PAHO of obstructing the federal human trafficking lawsuit of the Cuban doctors and of refusing to provide information to members of the United States Congress.
In addition, they question whether US taxpayer funds are being used to pay lawyers who deny basic information about PAHO’s actions.
The letter alleges that PAHO, a Washington, DC-based organization that receives tens of millions of dollars in funding from US taxpayers each year, knowingly participated in a project that raises human rights, national security and health policy issues. Congressmen demand that US taxpayers not subsidize an organization that engages in and profits from human trafficking.
Despite the evidence indicating that PAHO played an important role in the trafficking of more than 10,000 Cuban doctors exported by the Havana regime to Brazil, violating Brazilian, United States and international laws, and transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to the Cuban government, the details of the operation, including the role of PAHO, have not been revealed to the governments of the United States and Brazil.
The letter also mentions that the regional organization has not denied the essential accusations of the doctors, who have revealed that it served as a financial intermediary to channel Brazilian federal funds to the Cuban government, while the doctors only received a fraction of the total.
Rather than take responsibility, PAHO argues that its activities were part of a humanitarian project that enjoys immunity because its actions were not “commercial.” However, the courts have rejected these arguments.
Congressmen demanded that PAHO provide a copy of the independent report announced by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2020. Despite the fact that nearly three years have passed since the announcement, PAHO has not provided any report to the Department of State, members of Congress, or attorneys for the plaintiffs. Members of Congress expect to receive the document and associated information no later than April 10, 2023.
