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The government of Trinidad and Tobago is considering expanding the recruitment of Cuban healthcare professionals to fill vacancies in its public health system, according to a statement made to the Senate by Health Minister Dr. Lackram Bodoe.
The information, confirmed by Guardian Trinidad and Tobago, indicates that Bodoe was responding to questions from opposition senator of the National People's Movement, Dr. Amery Browne, who wanted to know if the government intended to fill vacant positions with Cuban personnel and what criteria would be applied for their selection.
The minister confirmed that as of March 10, there were 58 Cuban healthcare professionals working in the country: four doctors, 53 nurses, and one administrative coordinator.
When asked if more Cuban personnel would be hired, Bodoe simply replied, "This matter is under consideration." When Browne pressed for details on the factors the Ministry considers for selecting Cuban professionals, the minister reiterated, "That question has already been posed and answered: the matter is under consideration."
The statement comes at a time of increasing international pressure regarding Cuban medical missions in the Caribbean. Since January 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has imposed visa restrictions on officials from countries that hire Cuban medical personnel, calling these missions forced labor schemes.
This pressure has led several countries in the region to cancel or not renew their contracts this year. Guyana did so in February, Jamaica in March, while Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines made the same decision in previous months, marking a growing trend of distancing from that cooperation scheme.
Trinidad and Tobago thus remains one of the few Caribbean countries that still considers expanding its health collaboration with Cuba, making Minister Bodoe's statement a politically significant gesture in the regional context.
The medical cooperation between both countries has deep roots: the bilateral health agreement was signed on July 20, 2003, and since then, 770 Cuban professionals have provided services in the country through ten medical brigades.
In May 2025, Cuba offered to send more than 160 healthcare professionals —44 doctors and 124 nurses— to the Couva Hospital to bolster its staff and open pediatric services, following the reopening of the center announced by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
The coordinator of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Orlando Lázaro Díaz Gómez, emphasized in May 2025 that the cumulative impact of the missions includes over 15,000 surgeries, 45,000 treatments, 40,000 vaccinations, and more than 6,000 lives saved.
The shortage of healthcare personnel is a structural problem in Trinidad and Tobago, with active vacancies in specialties such as obstetrics, general surgery, anesthesiology, internal medicine, and radiology, against a backdrop where the Pan American Health Organization projects a deficit of at least 600,000 health professionals in the Caribbean by 2030.
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