The Government of the United States once again includes Cuba, for the fourth consecutive year, on its list of countries that fail to comply with international standards regarding human trafficking.
In his latest report on the matter, posted this tuesday by the Department of State, the Island is among 11 states that have “a documented policy or pattern of trafficking in persons,” such as “trafficking in government-funded programs” and “forced labor in medical services,” in clear reference to the internationalist missionswhich have been denounced by international organizations.
Along with Cuba, there are also Russia, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Yemen, Eritrea, Burma and Turkmenistan as nations where it is the State itself that participates in human trafficking.
In general, the Island is included in the black list of 22 countries that do not comply with the “minimum standards” set by the United Nations against human trafficking -mainly the Palermo Protocols- and that are not making significant efforts to comply with them.
Belarus entered it for the first time, considering the United States that the Government of Alexander Lukashenko “orchestrated a migration crisis on its borders with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland,” encouraging irregular migrants to cross without addressing potential indicators of human trafficking.
The United States accuses Cuba of not informing the participants in these programs about the terms of their contracts, of confiscating their passports and salaries, and of threatening the professionals
Countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, China or Vietnam are also listed. Regarding the regime of Nicolás Maduro, the US highlights that “it continued to provide support and maintained a permissive environment for non-state armed groups that recruited and used child soldiers for armed conflicts and collaborated in sex trafficking and forced labor while operating with impunity.”
As for Cuba, which entered the list for the first time in 2019, the document concedes that, “despite the lack of significant efforts,” the Miguel Díaz-Canel regime has taken “some steps” to address human trafficking, such as “the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of traffickers.” However, it underlines that during 2022 there was a “government policy or benefit pattern” of the export programs for workers “with strong indications” of forced labor.
At this point, Washington specifically mentions the Cuban medical brigades in other countries and assures that Havana “continued to deploy Cuban workers in foreign countries using deceptive and coercive tactics” and without addressing “labor violations and trafficking crimes.”
In addition, it mentions “the growing number of allegations” by NGOs, former participants in these missions and foreign governments about the alleged involvement of Cuban officials in these “abuses.”
Thus, just as organizations such as Human Rights Watch either Prisoners DefendersThe US accuses Cuba of not informing the participants in these programs about the terms of their contracts, which varied from country to country; to confiscate their passports, professional credentials and salaries, and to threaten health professionals and their families if they left these missions.
Regarding Nicaragua, the report says that Daniel Ortega’s government has “minimized” the seriousness of this phenomenon, despite having also carried out “some measures” to address it, such as “the prosecution and conviction of four human traffickers for sexually exploit them.
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