Visa restrictions

US imposes visa restrictions on Brazilian officials for working with Cuban medical mission

The restrictions target government officials from Grenada and Brazil, among other countries.

By Jacob Wendler and Eric Bazail-Eimil

The U.S. revoked the visas Wednesday of two former senior health officials in Brazil for their involvement in a program that sent Cuban doctors to remote areas in the South American nation.

Mozart Julio Tabosa Sales and Alberto Kleiman were among a list of people whose visas were either revoked or restricted along with their family members for allegedly working to facilitate Cuba’s Mais Médicos program, which has been accused of using coercive labor practices by the State Department and some Cuban doctors who have taken part.

“This scheme enriches the corrupt Cuban regime and deprives the Cuban people of essential medical care,” the State Department said in a statement announcing the visa actions.

Tabosa Sales and Kleiman worked in Brazil’s Ministry of Health under former President Dilma Rousseff, when thousands of Cuban doctors were brought to the country to provide medical care in remote, impoverished areas.

The State Department action reflects White House efforts to punish both Cuba and Brazil, which President Donald Trump has sought to pressure over trade and its effort to prosecute former President Jair Bolsonaro for trying to stay in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election.

Cuba has for decades sent doctors abroad to provide medical care in less-developed nations in exchange for badly needed hard currency. The State Department said dozens of doctors reported being exploited as part of the program, which was administered through the Pan American Health Organization and Brazil’s health ministry.

The State Department said it also moved to revoke or restrict the visas of officials in Cuba, Grenada and Africa for involvement with Cuba’s overseas medical missions.

Cuban officials pointed out the benefits of the programs, highlighting how the country’s doctors treated millions of patients in over 3,600 Brazilian municipalities.

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio defended its efforts to provide medical care abroad, saying in a social media post that the country’s programs “are absolutely legitimate” and help to alleviate suffering.