Dear President Trump, Secretary Rubio and Members of Congress, 

As physicians, healthcare professionals and graduates from the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), we are duty-bound to denounce your administration’s deliberate sabotage of global health justice.  We have witnessed Cuba’s profound commitment to global health justice and contribution to heal the world's most vulnerable - a commitment now under siege by the escalating aggression of your administration with policies that violate medical ethics and endanger millions. 

Secretary Rubio’s expansion of visa bans to include not only Cuban officials but also foreign government representatives collaborating with medical brigades, explicitly threatens Caribbean, African and Latin American countries. This move brands life -saving cooperation as “forced labor” without evidence. The June 30,2025 presidential memorandum attempts to paralyze banking channels for medical program funding; thus, suffocating humanitarian coordination.  

Re-listing Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism on Inauguration Day 2025, blocks remittances, purchasing of medical supplies, and international payments. As U.N. experts have confirmed, this violates international law by weaponizing finance to cause “collective punishment.” 

These measures intensify the cruelty suffered by the Cuban people as a result of the U.S. blockade on Cuba. Pediatric cancer drugs, Swiss ventilators and dialysis equipment are routinely blocked. Cuban hospitals face 50% shortages in critical medicines due to “over -compliance” by pharmaceutical companies fearing US fines. 

The blockade costs Cuba nearly $5 billion annually- the equivalent of 80% of its health budget. Food insecurity, electricity shortages, and lack of fuel affect the people, and it is a strategy of U.S. administrations to force desperation, divisions and upheaval within the Cuban society. The US blockade on Cuba is not just policy - it is a weapon of mass suffering. 

Despite 60 years of U.S. aggression, Cuba remains a beacon of health equity. Since 1963, Cuba has deployed over 600,000 health professionals to over 180 nations, often serving during pandemics, underserved regions and zones impacted by war. The Henry Reeve Brigade alone treated over 3 million people and saved 80,000 lives. During COVID - 19, 57 brigades served over 40 countries, treating millions of people. Cuba developed three COVID -19 vaccines despite syringe shortages caused by the US imposed blockade, and achieved a 90% vaccination rate while sharing technology with the Global South. 

In addition to the commitment Cuba holds to the global promotion of health equity through the medical brigades, Cuba is committed to educating doctors to serve the people- not profit. The Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) has granted scholarships to over 120 countries, prioritizing marginalized communities. Two hundred forty five ELAM graduates are from the United States, and are serving underserved communities across the country.  

Leaders across the world have historically denounced and demanded that the US blockade on Cuba is lifted. Most recently CARICOM leaders unanimously rejected US coercion, risking sanctions to protect Cuban health workers. We join these leaders and 184 UN member states, the Vatican and global health justice movements in demanding: 

1. REMOVE CUBA FROM THE STATE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM LIST - an illegitimate designation condemned by nation states across the world as baseless. 

2. LIFT THE BLOCKADE ON CUBA - repeal the Helms - Burton Act and restore travel/ remittance policies.

3. END VISA PERSECUTION OF MEDICAL BRIGADES - revoke the February 2025 restrictions targeting Cuban health workers and partner nations.

Cuba is not a terrorist state- it is humanist! Cuba has proven that a state under siege can prioritize the well-being and safety of its citizens. US policy against Cuba is not grounded on justice or diplomacy - it is a crime against humanity.

As health professionals, we stand with Cuban doctors and millions whose lives hang in the balance as a result of the cruelty of deadly profit making systems. It is time for U.S. government administrators to advocate and promote life saving systems - not economic war and suffering.