Trump's Offensive Against Cuban Doctors: From Honduras to Mexico, the Campaign Reaches Latin America

Honduras has confirmed the termination of its cooperation with Cuban health professionals, marking a new phase in the Trump administration’s strategy to defund the Havana regime. With this decision in Honduras, the inevitable question is: which country will be next in the region? Mexico emerges as a possibility, considering Washington’s growing influence on the American continent.

Honduras closes program with Cuban health specialists

Almost 130 Cuban doctors and nurses will leave Honduras this week after their two-year contracts expire, confirmed Secretary of State for Communication and Strategy, José Augusto Argueta. The medical facilities managed by the Cuban professionals “will remain operational until the transition to Honduran healthcare personnel is complete,” Argueta clarified to HCH Television.

This decision represents a break from the previous period under President Xiomara Castro, when Cuba had 150 doctors in the Central American country and operated five specialized ophthalmology laboratories. The change in administration, with Nasry Asfura taking office at the end of January, has significantly shifted Honduras’s foreign policy toward a closer alignment with Washington’s objectives.

Trump intensifies campaign against medical brigades

The Trump administration has intensified diplomatic pressure to dismantle Cuban medical missions across the region. Secretary of State Marco Rubio leads an aggressive offensive aimed at further isolating the Caribbean regime. In recent days, U.S. diplomat Mike Hammer visited Italy to urge the regional government of Calabria to cease cooperation with Cuba.

The strategy is clear: cut off the funding sources that sustain the island’s economy of ten million inhabitants, hoping to provoke internal political changes after more than six decades of a one-party system.

The pattern of pressure expands across Latin America

Honduras is not an isolated case. Guatemala recently announced it would gradually reduce its program, which included 412 Cuban workers, including 333 doctors. The Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, and Grenada have also modified or suspended these brigades, often after U.S. threats to restrict visas for officials.

The offensive has even extended to Europe, demonstrating the global reach of this campaign. In this context, Mexico is a case to watch, given its geopolitical importance and its historical relationship with Cuba.

Medical missions: From source of income to political target

Cuban medical brigades are one of Havana’s main sources of foreign currency, competing only with tourism. In 2023, nearly 24,000 Cuban health professionals worked in 56 countries worldwide, according to reports from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Revenue figures illustrate the importance of these programs: the brigades generated $6.3 billion USD in 2018 and $3.9 billion in 2020, often in the form of Venezuelan oil, according to official data. However, the program that the U.S. describes as “similar to slavery” is constantly being reduced under American diplomatic pressure.

The political shift in Honduras and the question about Mexico

Cuba-Honduras cooperation flourished during Xiomara Castro’s government, with 278 Honduran students studying in the Caribbean island. However, Nasry Asfura, who assumed the presidency at the end of January, has realigned the Central American country with U.S. foreign policy priorities.

It is worth noting that Trump actively intervened in Honduran electoral politics last year, supporting Asfura, then mayor of Tegucigalpa, and pardoning another former president of the same party who was serving a 45-year sentence in the United States for drug trafficking. These moves highlight the U.S. determination to consolidate influence in the region, which could also impact Mexico’s stance on Cuban medical missions in the coming months.