NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) — The Bahamas government says it is pausing the recruitment of nurses from Cuba and will also cancel its existing contracts with a Cuban recruitment agency.

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Michael Darville, who paid a visit to Havana two weeks ago to review the current recruitment programme, told Parliament that the government will enter into direct employment contracts with Cuban healthcare workers who are currently in The Bahamas.

“Following discussions with the US (United States) government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, my ministry negotiated new contractual terms with the Cuban recruitment agencies,” Darville told legislators during the 2025/2026 budget debate.

“After fruitful negotiations, we are prepared to cancel all existing contractual agreements and enter into a direct contractual agreement with Cuban healthcare professionals currently in The Bahamas.

“Those who agree to these terms will sign the new employment agreement by my ministry and remain in [the] country for deployment across the Family Islands,” he added.

Last week, the Guyana government said it would be implementing new conditions under which Cuban health professionals will be employed in The Bahamas as it plans to embark on the “aggressive” recruitment of foreign nurses to work at several new hospitals that are being built across the country.

“We’re recruiting people from around the world, not confined to Cuba but we’re working to ensure that people who come here from Cuba that they meet the definition because of what the US Secretary of State mentioned that the conditions of work here don’t run afoul of the requirements set by the United States of America,” Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told his weekly news conference.

Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries have defended the Cuban health brigade programme after Washington announced the expansion of an existing Cuba-related visa restriction policy that targets “forced labour” linked to the Cuban labour export programme.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this expanded policy applies to current or former Cuban government officials, and other individuals, including foreign government officials, who are believed to be responsible for or involved in the Cuban labour export programme, particularly Cuba’s overseas medical missions.

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who left Cuba in pursuit of the American dream, said that the new policy also applies to the immediate family of those people supporting the Cuban programme.

“The department has already taken steps to impose visa restrictions on several individuals, including Venezuelans, under this expanded policy,” he added.

Darville told legislators that those who do not accept the new employment terms will be allowed to wrap up their affairs and return to Cuba.

“All further recruitment exercises of Cuban teachers and healthcare workers are currently on hold pending the outcome of the ongoing discussions between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our relevant counterparts in the United States,” he added.

The government has insisted that it is not engaged in forced labour and in May Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis told reporters the government was renegotiating its labour agreements with Cuba and would pay all foreign workers engaged with the government directly.

In Parliament, Darville reiterated the need for Cuban healthcare workers due to shortages in the public sector, which he said are due to poor planning on the part of successive administrations and other nations luring Bahamian workers away with incentives.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness said that it will continue to recruit specialist nurses and other health workers from Africa, the Philippines and India to address the short-term shortages in the country, while continuing to train Bahamian healthcare workers.

The minister said that there are three ophthalmologists assisting with the Cuban eye programme, three nurses, 10 biomedical engineers, eight lab technicians, and 11 X-ray technicians from Cuba currently working in the public health sector.

“The majority of these workers are scheduled to be deployed to the Family Islands as part of my ministry’s plan to provide lab and diagnostic services island-to-island,” Darville said, adding that “significant investment has already been made in cross-training these Cuban allied healthcare professionals and the installation of lab digital diagnostic equipment is currently on the way, supported by some Cuban biomedical engineers working side-by-side with suppliers from the United States”.

Darville said Cuban workers receive the same benefits as Bahamian employees and are “treated well”.