The Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (New York), daughter of a Cuban mother, intervened before the Office of the United States Trade Representative last Monday to demand that the review of the USMCA in 2026 be used as leverage to pressure Mexico to end Cuban medical missions, which she characterized as forced labor and human trafficking orchestrated by the communist regime in Havana.
In her remarks, Malliotakis was straightforward: "Mexico is participating in what amounts to forced labor, human trafficking, essentially a forced labor scheme directed by the Cuban communist regime."
The congresswoman explained that Mexico pays the Cuban government billions of dollars for hiring doctors and health professionals, but the regime retains those funds without passing them on to the workers: "The communist regime keeps that money. It really doesn't reach the workers."
Malliotakis described the coercive practices that these professionals endure, all documented by the Department of State and human rights organizations: confiscation of passports, withholding of wages, surveillance, restrictions on movement, and limitations on family contact.
According to data from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Mexico pays $3,750 a month for each Cuban doctor, while the professional only receives 200 dollars a month.
The congresswoman pointed out a gap in Article 23.6 of the USMCA that does not explicitly cover exported labor services, only goods produced with forced labor, and called for this legal loophole to be closed: "It is shocking that the trafficking of human beings for forced labor, whether through government medical missions or service links with trade relations, is not addressed with equal priority."
In February 2026, Malliotakis had already signed a letter to the USTR along with several colleagues alerting about this issue, and in January she had demanded from Secretary of State Marco Rubio sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against Cuban officials involved in the missions.
The congresswoman emphasized the political opportunity of the moment: "With President Trump and the Secretary of State applying pressure on Cuba, now is the right time to correct this mistake in the agreement," and warned that the scheme "is putting billions of dollars into the pockets of the Cuban communist regime at a time when our president and our Secretary of State are trying to economically suffocate them."
The USTR representative responded positively, confirming that forced labor is a priority for the Trump administration: "The United States is chairing the G20 this year and forced labor is one of the issues we are addressing. We are conducting an investigation under Section 301 regarding forced labor, including with respect to Mexico."
This intervention occurs in a context of increasing pressure on Cuban medical missions. On April 8, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights published a 199-page report—based on testimonies from 71 Cuban professionals in 109 countries—recommending that American countries withdraw from the program due to serious indications of forced labor and modern slavery.
In March, Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart directly accused President Claudia Sheinbaum of being complicit in human trafficking for maintaining the contract with Cuban doctors, an accusation that the Mexican embassy in the United States rejected while defending the hiring.
Cuban medical missions generated $4.882 billion in 2022 according to official Cuban data, making it the main source of revenue for the regime, surpassing tourism. This positions the pressure through the USMCA as a key element of the strategy to economically suffocate the government of Havana.
The mandatory review of the trade agreement has a deadline of July 1, 2026, which leaves a narrow window for Washington to exert pressure on Mexico in this regard.
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