Human Trafficking in Cuba’s Medical Missions

For 59 years, Cuba’s authoritarian regime has engaged in a state-run human trafficking enterprise involving its medical missions. In the name of helping countries address natural disasters and healthcare crises, Cuba has subjected over 400,000 medical workers to forced labor, withholding of payment, family separation, and deplorable working conditions, among other exploitative conditions. The human trafficking scheme of the Cuban government has become the main source of foreign income for the island’s 63-year-old totalitar- ian government, while bolstering the regime’s legitimacy and international support.