Cuba Tries to Project Normalcy on Its Doctors in Venezuela
Cuba’s Canal Caribe TV airs a report in the country with testimonies from Venezuelan patients, amid uncertainty over the future of a government mission that exchanged labor for oil.
HAVANA TIMES – Uncertainty looms over the thousands of Cuban doctors who remain in Venezuela and rumors are multiplying in the absence of information. What will happen now with the agreement signed by Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro in 2000 to exchange oil for medical personnel? There has been explicit reference to a request from the White House for the new interim government of Delcy Rodríguez to break with China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba, which would obviously imply the withdrawal of intelligence and security personnel from the country.
US president Donald Trump also said this past Sunday that “Cuba survived for many years thanks to the oil and money from Venezuela. In exchange, it provided ‘security services’ to the last two Venezuelan dictators.” The president then said that there would be “no more oil” for the Island, and although he did not specifically mention PDVSA (Venezuela’s State Oil Company), that is how it was understood.
But the exchange also included medical personnel, and the question is whether Trump’s threat will be carried out, leaving oil shipments from Venezuela to Havana at zero and, if so, what incentive Cuba would have to maintain a deployment of some 14,000 personnel whose absence, at this moment, would be significant for Venezuela.
In the absence of concrete statements from the parties involved, rumors are flying, especially after the numerous flights of the Ilyushin Il-96-300, tail number CU-T1250, recorded on radar in recent days, which has led many to believe that the numbers are already decreasing.
Testimonies of alleged defections have appeared on social media and in the independent press and, according to what 14ymedio has confirmed through its sources, the situation depends on the assignment of each medical worker, as some have been confined to quarters while others have continued to perform their duties with a certain degree of normality. Last week, the provincial newspaper of Sancti Spíritus put a stop to the gossip and published a brief interview with the brigade’s provincial chief, who insisted that the doctors had paused operations where there were risks, but had continued working in the rest of the country.
That was insufficient, and the week continued to be filled with all kinds of comments, so the Cuban government has once again deployed its propaganda. The Canal Caribe channel went to the La Urbina Comprehensive Diagnostic Center, in Petare—part of the state of Miranda, near Caracas—to prepare a brief report aired in Tuesday’s newscast showing the doctors attending to patients, several of whom are placed in front of the camera to praise the Cubans.
“No one goes home without being seen, no matter the hour or the circumstances,” says the reporter, who speaks with a few Venezuelans. “I’m very grateful for the care we get from the Cuban doctors because the poor people of the community come here and they’re well cared for,” says one man. “They fulfill their duty, as they should and as established by their contract, and truly they are wonderful people,” notes another patient.
The doctors also explain how well they feel in the country, with no mention of the current situation. “We feel a deep pride and great solidarity, since we come with the spirit of internationalism, solidarity, and humanism that characterizes all Cubans,” says specialist Yarelis Cutiño. “We will provide the support the Venezuelan people need as long as they want, as long as they decide,” she continues.
Nurse Anisleidis Martinez also looks straight into the camera and explains how “at this moment our presence in Venezuela has a very important meaning,” and that they will continue—she says—supporting the country for as long as necessary.
The same spirit runs through the Facebook groups of Cuban doctors in Venezuela, where the “difficult recent events” are mentioned with more precision, in the face of which “solidarity becomes medicine,” reads a post by the Agua Viva Medical Brigade in the state of Lara. “The Cuban medical brigade, together with its Venezuelan brothers and sisters, reaffirms its commitment to be where it is most needed: at the side of the people, caring for lives and offering hope. Health knows no borders. When peoples embrace, strength multiplies. Today, doctors of Cuba and Venezuela work shoulder to shoulder, proving that unity is the best antidote to adversity,” reads a poster designed to inject forced optimism.
“Blah, blah, blah. That’s how Cuba’s medical missions work, especially in Venezuela. Everyone is forced to publish stupidities in favor of communism,” responds a lone comment. The account features a torrent of short videos of patients expressing their thanks.
In 2019, the official Cuban newspaper Granma estimated at 29,505 the number of Cubans serving on mission in Venezuela, 20,000 of whom were medical personnel distributed across the country’s 25 states. By 2026, estimates place the figure closer to 14,000, due in part to the drop in oil shipments. If the US effectively forces Delcy Rodríguez to stop delivering oil, the 2000 agreements will be officially broken and Venezuela will have to confront the abrupt loss of thousands of doctors, with no clear indication of how they could be replaced in the short term.
First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana TImes.