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About 168 Cuban doctors left Honduras on Wednesday after the government of President Nasry Asfura decided to rescind the agreement that allowed them to work in the Central American country.
The agency Associated Press (AP) reported that the doctors departed from Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport in the city of San Pedro Sula, heading to Havana.
According to Honduran authorities, the agreement did not comply with several internal regulations of the country.
The agreement had been signed during the administration of former President Xiomara Castro and allowed for the arrival of the Cuban medical brigade in 2024.
The Cuban ambassador to Honduras, Juan Loforte, went to the airport to bid farewell to the doctors and stated to local media that the termination of the contract was a sovereign decision of the Honduran government.
Cuban doctors worked for two years in 17 of the country's 18 departments and also provided services in five ophthalmology centers built by the government, where they conducted approximately 7,000 eye surgeries.
The Minister of Communications of Honduras, José Augusto Argueta, recently explained that the agreement would not be renewed because it did not meet the requirements set by Honduran regulations for this type of medical brigades.
Among the irregularities noted, the official mentioned that the country's legislation stipulates that a medical brigade can only remain in Honduras for a maximum of 90 days, while the Cuban doctors had been working there since 2024.
Argueta also indicated that professionals must be accredited by the Medical College of Honduras and that the work of a medical brigade should be free of charge, conditions that, according to him, were not being met.
The official rejected any suggestion that the decision was related to pressure from the United States government and asserted that the cancellation of the agreement was solely in accordance with Honduran laws.
In February, it was announced that the current administration of President Nasry Asfura -backed by his American counterpart Donald Trump- had decided not to extend the agreement.
The Cuban regime reacted informally after the departure of the doctors from the island who were providing services in Honduras became known.
The response came from the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, who described it as a "crime" to deprive a country of its legitimate sources of income.
The United States publicly congratulated Honduras for ending the agreement that allowed the presence of Cuban doctors in that Central American country, in a decision that marks a new blow to one of the main financing mechanisms of the Havana regime.
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