Denouncing the human trafficking and forced labor of and profiteering from Cuban medical personnel serving in third-world countries.

Denouncing the human trafficking and forced labor of and profiteering from Cuban medical personnel serving in third-world countries.

Whereas the Department of State’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report designates Cuba as a Tier 3 country that does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;

Whereas the 2024 TIP report cites Cuban regime policy or pattern to profit from forced labor in Cuba’s labor export program, which included foreign medical missions;

Whereas the 2024 TIP report notes the Cuban regime kept a significant amount of wages of workers, confiscated passports and professional credentials of workers, subjected workers to surveillance and strict curfews, and did not consistently inform participants of the terms of their contracts;

Whereas the 2024 TIP report states the Cuban regime failed to address trafficking crimes despite an increasing number of allegations from survivors, credible nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, and foreign governments of the involvement of Cuban officials in facilitating serious human rights abuses and forced labor;

Whereas the 2024 TIP report charges that the Cuban regime threatened, coerced, and punished government-affiliated workers, including medical professionals, and their family members if participants left the program;

Whereas the 2024 TIP report concludes regime authorities did not make efforts to address labor trafficking crimes;

Whereas the June 2024 report by the Department of State to Congress, “Human Trafficking In Cuba’s Labor Export Program”, as mandated by section 7045(e) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118–47), cites sources that estimate the Cuban regime reaps annual profits of between $6,000,000,000 and $8,000,000,000 from the labor export program;

Whereas the June 2024 report by the Department of State to Congress lists 72 countries that may have had government-affiliated Cuban workers in their territories in the last 5 years;

Whereas the June 2024 report by the Department of State to Congress states that host governments should use transparent and fair recruitment practices in the hiring of foreign workers and have a responsibility to proactively identify victims of exploitation and human trafficking in their country, and to protect such victims from further exploitation, yet Cuba maintains overwhelming levels of control over its workers deployed abroad;

Whereas foreign governments continue to rebuff diplomatic efforts of the United States to ensure the protection of Cuban medical personnel working within their territories;

Whereas section 7045(e) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118–47), states that the Secretary of State shall apply the requirements of section 7031(c) of this Act (visa revocation authorities) to officials from countries and organizations identified in the June 24 report; and

Whereas the Department of State has acknowledged that in Brazil, the Cuban medical mission, known as “Mais Medicos”, was “facilitated” by the Pan American Health Organization, which augments ample public information that Brazilian, Pan American Health Organization, and Cuban officials are responsible for designing, implementing, and perpetuating the trafficking of Cuban doctors in the Mais Medicos program: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) recognizes that the human trafficking and forced labor of Cuban medical personnel abroad by the Cuban regime are gross violations of international human trafficking and forced labor treaties and protocols;

(2) recognizes that the signatories to these agreements have a solemn responsibility to abide by their obligations under these accords to ensure the working conditions of Cuban medical personnel meet international standards for foreign laborers;

(3) urges foreign governments to reject the exploitation, profiteering, and wage garnishment of the Cuban regime by paying the Cuban medical personnel directly;

(4) urges the President of the United States to utilize visa revocation authorities against foreign and organization officials who have participated in Cuba’s human trafficking schemes, including the Brazilian, Cuban, and Pan American Health Organization officials involved in Mais Medicos, and the Honduran and Mexican officials involved in other schemes until such time as the host government fulfills its obligations under international human trafficking and forced labor treaties and protocols to protect the rights of those workers; and

(5) approves of the policy changes outlined in the press statement issued on February 25, 2025, by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, entitled, “Expansion of Visa Restrictions Policy for Individuals Exploiting Cuban Labor”.