AREQUIPA, Peru – The young Dr. Asiel Pérez Rocillo died in Mexico this Saturday while carrying out one of the so-called “medical missions” of the Cuban regime, according to the Cuban Embassy in the Aztec country.
“It is with deep pain that we learned of the sudden death this afternoon of Dr. Asiel Pérez Rocillo; Cuban doctor specializing in Family Medicine who provided services to the Mexican people at the Xicotepec comprehensive hospital, in the state of Puebla,” the diplomatic headquarters reported. on Facebook without detailing the cause of death.
The publication indicates that the management of the Medical Brigade, the Cuban Ministry of Public Health and the legation contacted his family on the Island.
“All necessary steps are being taken to provide the required consular support and repatriation,” the Embassy highlighted.
Cuban doctors work alongside Mexican colleagues as part of an agreement between the governments of Mexico and Cuba. This agreement places Caribbean specialists in the units of the IMSS Bienestar program, which operates in areas with difficult access and a shortage of health personnel.
Some of these areas where are inserted specialists are dominated by drug traffickers and with high levels of insecurity.
Although the arrival of Cuban doctors has been promoted as an act of solidarity, these international missions have generated controversy due to the working conditions imposed by the Cuban regime. Human rights organizations have denounced that doctors sent abroad work under a model that they describe as “modern slavery.”
Under this system, doctors receive only a fraction of the salaries paid by the recipient countries, while the rest of the money is retained by the dictatorship. In addition, professionals are often subject to strict mobility restrictions, constant surveillance and pressure to prevent them from abandoning missions.
The export of medical services It is one of Cuba’s main sources of income, even surpassing tourism. This practice is sustained at the expense of the labor and human rights of health professionals, who are not free to negotiate their conditions or the destination of their income.
In the case of Mexico, the hiring of Cuban doctors has generated criticism both for the doctors’ working conditions and for the lack of transparency in agreements with the Cuban government.
The Aztec administration has been promoting the hiring of Cuban doctors for more than four years. The last presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador disbursed $5,188 a month to support each of the island’s doctors. They have also limited the scholarships to study abroad that they grant to Mexican university students, leaving Cuba, despite the conditions on the island. , as the main and even only option.
