Uruguay Shifts Policy: Cuban Doctors to Receive Salaries Directly, Minister Confirms

In a significant policy shift, Uruguay will revise its agreement with Cuba to allow 20 Cuban ophthalmologists working at the Eye Hospital in Montevideo to receive their salaries directly, bypassing the previous channeling of funds through the Cuban brigade's structure.

Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin revealed this change during an interview with El Observador.

"We've had discussions with both U.S. and Cuban authorities, and achieved our goal: the continuation of the 20 Cuban doctors' eye surgeries in this country," stated the Uruguayan diplomat.

Previously, Uruguay allocated approximately $250,000 annually to support the Cuban medical mission. According to Jimena Pardo, the president of the Banco de Previsión Social (BPS), these funds were not direct salaries for the specialists but rather reimbursement of expenses transferred to a brigade account set up by the Ministry of Public Health. The management of the professionals' compensation was handled by the Cuban side.

"The fundamental change now is that instead of paying Cuba, we focus on social protection and directly compensating the professionals," explained Lubetkin.

This alteration comes in the wake of the United States including Uruguay in a report on Cuban medical missions, submitted to Congress in late August. The document placed Uruguay among 15 countries making direct payments to the Cuban government for the services of these professionals. Washington claims that Havana's exportation of workers demonstrates a pattern of forced labor and exploitation.

This pressure on such agreements is part of a policy Washington has intensified since 2025. In March of that year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the Cuban medical missions as an "atrocious practice," highlighting that in many nations, professionals do not receive their wages directly and face other restrictions. "In many parts of the world, the doctors are unpaid. The Cuban government receives the payment," Rubio noted, acknowledging that conditions vary by country and that each agreement requires individual assessment.

Under U.S. legislation passed this year, if a country is listed in these reports for two consecutive years, the Secretary of State is barred from providing certain international assistance. Uruguay would need to appear again in 2027 for this provision to take effect.

Uruguayan journalist Gabriel Pereyra reported that Washington warned of potential repercussions for cooperation with Uruguay. However, Lubetkin insisted that his government had not received any official document announcing the suspension of aid.

"No official document was received," the foreign minister stated, portraying the modification as an update to a longstanding mechanism that had remained largely unchanged.

"We are updating agreements made many years ago as they should have been updated," he added.

The Uruguayan government had already hinted in September of its intention to pay the Cuban doctors directly, aiming to maintain the ophthalmology program without continuing the transfer system to Havana.

The healthcare partnership between the two nations dates back to 2007. According to official BPS figures, by July 2025, the program had conducted 916,787 ophthalmological consultations, 118,029 eye surgeries, and 217,885 screenings.

Lubetkin affirmed the program's continuation and assured that the specialists will remain in Uruguay under the new scheme.

"The Cuban doctors will stay in this country, operating within absolutely logical and legal mechanisms of our action, with their social protection accounts at the BPS," he declared.