‘A sudden gap’: poorest to suffer from Trump’s drive to stop Cuba sending doctors to its neighbours

People across Latin America and the Caribbean find themselves without care as countries bow to US pressure Novlyn Ebanks, 73, had been due to receive the eye surgery she needed free of charge at St Joseph’s hospital in Kingston. But after Jamaica’s unilateral decision in March to end the nearly 30-year agreement with Cuba to provide doctors, she was no longer able to schedule the procedure. The hospital’s ophthalmology centre was mainly staffed by Cuban doctors, many of whom had already left Jamaica. “I’m really disturbed and concerned,” said Ebanks, who will now have to seek private treatment at a cost that, she said, could reach 350,000 Jamaican dollars (about £1,600). In recent months, many people across Latin America and the Caribbean have suddenly found themselves without healthcare, as nearly a dozen countries acquiesce to pressure from the US to end medical agreements with the Cuban government. The US claims that the programme amounts to “forced labour” for doctors, who have most of their salaries withheld by the Cuban government. Cuba acknowledges the retention but denies any human rights violations, saying the allegation is merely a pretext for the White H