A Cuban doctor, speaking anonymously due to fear of retaliation, revealed to CiberCuba the mechanisms through which the State controls and restricts the departure of health professionals from the country, even for personal and humanitarian trips.
The testimony, supported by a copy of the form that the doctors are required to sign –including the reason "justification" for the trip–, describes a process characterized by mandatory requests, indefinite delays, and a total absence of legal guarantees for those attempting to emigrate or simply travel abroad.
According to the details, doctors must submit a formal request to the Ministry of Public Health to obtain authorization for departure, whether temporary or permanent.
This process includes personal and employment information, as well as the reasons for the trip. It also requires approval from multiple administrative levels, from the management of your workplace to municipal and provincial authorities, and ultimately, the Minister of Health himself.
In practice, he explains, the process requires that each request goes through the entity's director, then the municipal Health director, followed by the provincial level — where it must be justified that the quality and continuity of service will not be affected — and finally a central decision that can approve or deny the trip.
The document states that even for personal trips, such as vacations or family visits, the professional must justify their request and await a final decision that may be approved or denied without a clear explanation.
In many cases, the source claims, requests go unanswered for months or even years, often exceeding the established five-year period, which effectively blocks any possibility of departure.
“A Cuban specialist doctor may have worked for 10, 12, or more years after completing their postgraduate training (...), and still find themselves unable to take a plane to embrace their child. That is not health policy; it is a modern form of slavery,” he denounced.
"Applications go missing, there is no written record of a denial, and this hinders any legal claim," adds the doctor, who asserts that this administrative void leaves the specialists in a state of complete defenselessness.
The system, known among professionals as "regulation," not only restricts mobility but also leads to severe personal consequences.
Many doctors remain separated from their families abroad for long periods, with no possibility of reunification: "And the regime doesn't care at all."
"A doctor separated from his family for years, unable to emigrate, subjected to chronic uncertainty, and under constant job threat, is a healthcare worker whose mental health, dignity, and rights are being violated," he asserted.
The complaint also points out a contradiction that it describes as obvious: direct relatives of high-ranking officials reside abroad, "enjoying the freedom of movement that is systematically denied to doctors," in what it qualifies as a practice of double standards within the regime itself.
This is compounded by the risk of reprisals. According to testimonies, expressing dissatisfaction can lead to workplace sanctions, loss of employment, or indirect pressure on family members, which reinforces the silence among those affected.
Even if you are in the process of applying for permanent departure from the country, and you file a complaint, the waiting period, as a reprimand, can be extended to the established five years, and in many cases, even longer.
"I write from anonymity not out of cowardice, but because a system punishes dissent and silences the truth," notes the doctor, who describes the prolonged separation of families as one of the most painful consequences of these restrictions.
He emphasized that, despite having dedicated his life to health, it is now the members of the sector who face a situation of vulnerability, "without legal representation, without a union, without a public voice," in the face of a system that conditions their professional and personal future.
It also warns that it seeks to document a reality that, it asserts, will have consequences: the damage “measured in years of life, broken families, and crushed dignities,” while reminding that the right to leave any country, including one's own, is internationally recognized and “has no exceptions.”
The case highlights a system that, beyond administrative regulations, restricts the freedom of movement of thousands of professionals in Cuba, who, despite years of training and service, are unable to make their own choices about their future.
Filed under: