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The Cuban regime welcomed on Tuesday at the José Martí International Airport in Havana 26 health collaborators returning from Guatemala, in an event filled with official rhetoric in which the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) expressed regret over the Guatemalan government's decision to terminate the bilateral agreement.
The First Deputy Minister of Public Health, Tania Margarita Cruz Hernández, presided over the welcome on behalf of Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda and took the opportunity to criticize Guatemala.
"The unilateral decision of the Government of Guatemala will deprive the most vulnerable of their right to health and life," he stated, adding that the Guatemalan people "will always be able to count on the firm and selfless support of Cuba."
The group received on Tuesday is part of the gradual withdrawal that began earlier this year. In March, 172 doctors returned in one of the first contingents, followed by a group of 93 members in April. A second contingent is scheduled to depart in August 2026.
The Cuban medical mission in Guatemala lasted for over 27 years and involved more than 11,327 healthcare professionals, according to figures from MINSAP itself.
The brigade arrived in the Central American country in November 1998 as a humanitarian response to Hurricane Mitch, and at its peak, it brought together around 412 collaborators distributed across 16 of the 22 Guatemalan departments.
The government of President Bernardo Arévalo announced the progressive non-renewal of the agreement in February 2026, less than two weeks after Guatemala signed a trade agreement with the United States, amid pressure from the Trump administration for Latin American countries to reduce their ties with Havana.
Guatemalan authorities also recorded more than 60 complaints against members of the brigade for practicing medicine without meeting the legal requirements of the country.
The welcome event in Havana was attended, in addition to Cruz Hernández, by Arelis Marrero Guerrero, Deputy Head of the Social Sector Care Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, and José Carlos Rodríguez Ruiz, Deputy General Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Camagüey doctor Edy Jorge Soria Poll spoke on behalf of his colleagues with the tone the regime expected: "Behind every white coat, there is an invaluable story of humanism, love, and dedication that transcends borders."
What the official act omitted is the broader context of the missions. The European Parliament approved Amendment 311 in 2025, labeling the Cuban medical brigades as "modern slavery" and "forced labor," noting that the Cuban state keeps between 60% and 97.5% of the salary paid by the host countries. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights raised concerns in April 2026 about practices consistent with human trafficking within these missions.
Guatemala is not an isolated case: in 2026, Honduras, Jamaica, and Antigua and Barbuda also canceled their agreements with Cuba, striking at one of the main sources of foreign currency for the regime in a year of increasing international isolation.
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