PRESS RELEASE: Uruguay to Cuba: Long-Time Medical Brigade Contract Has Been Terminated

​Yesterday, Uruguay’s Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) announced it would not be renewing the contract it has with the Cuban government for work through Uruguay’s National Center for Technical and Technological Aid (CENATT).
 
The Global Liberty Alliance (GLA), which has spent close to two years has used various legal tools, including freedom of information laws and human rights litigation, to hold to account officials who authorized the Cuban Medical Brigade programs in Uruguay and other nations. GLA issued the following press release in response to yesterday’s important events.

​GLA President Jason Poblete commented, “This is a decisive win that will boost the morale of Cuban medical workers trapped in the Brigade Program. Practicing medicine should be a choice, not forced upon medical workers and politicized by the Communist Party. Uruguay is also defending Uruguayan labor laws that all guests in their county must obey, including Cuba. Other nations in the Americas should follow Uruguay’s example.”
 
GLA attorney in Uruguay, Sabrina V. Peláez Iglesias, added, “Little by little, Uruguay’s government is exposing the actions of the Cuban regime, which violates human rights. We’re seeing the efforts that we’ve undertaken bear fruit, and soon these inhumane practices of slave labor will be stopped.”

Read the full press release below:

2021-08-18 Press Release - URUGUAY Cancels Medical Brigade Contract With Cuba by Global Liberty Alliance on Scribd

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Palacio Legislativo, Montevideo, Uruguay.

BACKGROUND:

The agreement, originally signed in 2008 and updated in 2018, committed the Cuban government to providing five medical professionals to work in Uruguay, four with bachelor’s in Orthopedics and one doctor in Traumatology.
 
When Pablo Bartol began as the Minister of MIDES in March 2020, attempts were made to renegotiate the contract, which Uruguay considered expensive at the time. Though proposals were made to reduce the number of Cuban doctors provided to CENATT, no agreement was finalized. Regardless, Cuba removed the doctor and two professionals with Bachelor’s in Orthopedics. The newly appointed MIDES director, Martín Lema, denounced the breaches in contract in front of Uruguay’s Parliament last month. On July 15, an appeal was made to the Cuban Embassy in Uruguay regarding the noncompliance with the approved agreement, and allowed for a 30-day period to “correct the breaches.” It was noted that Cuba’s diplomatic personnel acknowledged receipt of the complaint but took no action in response.

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RELATED MATERIAL:

• GLA’s Cuban Medical Mission Files – URUGUAY
• News Alert: “GLA Urges Uruguay to Stop Forced Labor & Human Trafficking of Cuban Medical Workers,” (May 27, 2021).
• News Alert: “GLA Again Asks Uruguay to Press Cuba for More Transparency in Cuban Medical Brigades to Stop Human Trafficking,” (January 1, 2021).
• News Alert: “GLA Attorney Meets with Uruguayan Congressman About Cuban Medical Missions,” (November 19, 2020).

Global Liberty Alliance Legal Measures in Uruguay:

• On July 26, 2021, Global Liberty Alliance counsel in Uruguay filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office in Uruguay regarding Uruguay's continued exploitation of forced labor via Cuban medical brigades. Read the Complaint HERE. 
• On July 16, 2020, Global Liberty Alliance counsel in Uruguay filed a complaint with the Uruguay's National Institute of Human Rights and Ombudsman Office, an independent legal entity that pursuant to Uruguayan Law No. 18.446 (2008) “defends, promotes and protects” human rights. Complaint HERE.
• On April 23, 2020, a request was filed under Uruguayan Law No. 18.381 (2008), the Right to Access Public Information law, for information related to Cuban medical missions in Uruguay. Records can be found HERE.