{"id":30837,"date":"2026-07-09T08:10:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/30837\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T08:10:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:10:27","slug":"calabrias-hospitals-welcome-cuban-doctors-despite-us-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/30837\/","title":{"rendered":"Calabria’s hospitals welcome Cuban doctors despite US opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"

POLISTENA, Italy (AP) \u2014 Italy\u2019s southern Calabria region is the rare place in Europe where Cuba<\/a> sends medical professionals under a long-running program that the United States wants to stamp out.<\/p>\n

Cuba\u2019s doctors for decades have worked in developing nations such as Gambia and Venezuela, skilled in providing care with scarce resources<\/a>. Over 200 now staff remote hospitals across Calabria, Italy\u2019s poorest region in the tip of the country\u2019s boot. A shortage of homegrown healthcare workers had forced some hospital departments to close.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a disaster. I was keeping the emergency room open all by myself,\u201d the chief physician of Polistena hospital, Francesco Moschella, told The Associated Press, recalling the days before the Cubans arrived in January 2023.<\/p>\n

Their presence triggered a visit this year from U.S. officials. The U.S. has long criticized the Cuban program and called it a moneymaker for the socialist government<\/a> that the Trump administration has isolated, sanctioned and wants to see changed.<\/p>\n

Facing U.S. pressure, some Caribbean and Central American countries<\/a> have canceled Cuban missions. But Calabria\u2019s governor has refused. Even if Cuba\u2019s socialism doesn\u2019t fit with his political views, he says the region depends on them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Cuban<\/p>\n

Cuban doctor Daysi Luperon Loforte, right, helps lift up Francesco Ascone, a patient hospitalized in the emergency unit of the Santa Maria degli Ungheresi Hospital of Polistena, in the southern Italian Calabria region, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Valeria Ferraro)<\/p>\n

Cuban doctor Daysi Luperon Loforte, right, helps lift up Francesco Ascone, a patient hospitalized in the emergency unit of the Santa Maria degli Ungheresi Hospital of Polistena, in the southern Italian Calabria region, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Valeria Ferraro)<\/p>\n

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One Calabria hospital had lines several hours long<\/p>\n

Despite growing tourism and a strong farming economy, Calabria symbolizes southern Italy\u2019s lack of development compared to the more wealthy and industrialized north. Wages are about 30% lower, and its unemployment rate is double the national average.<\/p>\n

Calabria ranks last among Italy\u2019s 20 regions in public healthcare access, according to the health ministry.<\/p>\n

Until April, Calabria had spent 17 years under special administration due to persistent budget deficits, which along with corruption scandals and Mafia infiltration affected health investments. Many newly graduated doctors built careers in the north instead.<\/p>\n

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba sent doctors to several areas of Italy. Calabria continued employing Cubans after the pandemic ended.<\/p>\n

Emergency medicine specialist Zoila Yakelin Arevalo Cruz left her young son in Cuba in mid-2023. The emergency room where she works in Polistena town sees 30,000 patients annually, and six Cuban doctors make up half its staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a first-world country, Europe, we had a completely different idea. We didn\u2019t think that the shortage of doctors was so serious,\u201d said Arevalo Cruz, 38. \u201cIn this hospital there were lines that lasted up to eight or 12 hours. Now, thanks to our work, in less than an hour a doctor visits you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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During an AP visit last month, she conducted her work in now-fluent Italian. She says she even picked up some of the local dialect by chatting with grateful former patients who swing by to say hi.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Cuban<\/p>\n

Cuban doctor Zoila Yakelin Arevalo Cruz, left, talks to Maria Condolucci, daughter of an elderly woman hospitalized in the emergency unit of the Santa Maria degli Ungheresi Hospital of Polistena, in the southern Italian Calabria region, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Valeria Ferraro)<\/p>\n

Cuban doctor Zoila Yakelin Arevalo Cruz, left, talks to Maria Condolucci, daughter of an elderly woman hospitalized in the emergency unit of the Santa Maria degli Ungheresi Hospital of Polistena, in the southern Italian Calabria region, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Valeria Ferraro)<\/p>\n

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Not all countries are bowing to US pressure<\/p>\n

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused the Cuban missions of being a \u201cform of human trafficking\u201d \u2014 a reference to Cuba\u2019s government keeping most of doctors\u2019 salaries and allegedly confiscating some passports.<\/p>\n

\u201cCuban medical brigades are a key source of hard cash for the failing regime,\u201d the State Department told the AP in an emailed response to questions, adding it was sharing information with partner nations on \u201cthe sobering realities of Cuban medical brigades to which they might otherwise be unaware.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, Jamaica<\/a> ended its 50-year medical cooperation agreement with Cuba, affecting nearly 300 healthcare workers. Honduras<\/a> expelled more than 150.<\/p>\n

Mexico\u2019s President Claudia Sheinbaum in March, however, defended the program<\/a> and said it provides vital care to underserviced people.<\/p>\n

Officials in Cuba have said it has 22,000 medical personnel deployed to 55 countries in what they called a \u201cmission of solidarity.\u201d Neither they nor the State Department has specified which ones.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Cuban<\/p>\n

Cuban doctor Zoila Yakelin Arevalo Cruz, right, talks on the phone in the emergency unit of the Santa Maria degli Ungheresi Hospital of Polistena, in the southern Italian Calabria region, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Valeria Ferraro)<\/p>\n

Cuban doctor Zoila Yakelin Arevalo Cruz, right, talks on the phone in the emergency unit of the Santa Maria degli Ungheresi Hospital of Polistena, in the southern Italian Calabria region, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Valeria Ferraro)<\/p>\n

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US officials pressured Calabria\u2019s governor<\/p>\n

Calabria\u2019s Gov. Roberto Occhiuto is an unlikely booster of the Cuban program, as a high-ranking member of a political party strongly rooted in anti-Communist sentiment.<\/p>\n

Calabria\u2019s deal to bring in Cuban doctors was praised in the newspaper of Cuba\u2019s Communist Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you imagine, I got my photo in Granma?\u201d Occhiuto said, smiling.<\/p>\n

It also drew U.S. attention. Its charge d\u2019affaires to Cuba, Mike Hammer, flew to Calabria in February alongside the U.S. consul-general in Naples. Talks with Occhiuto were cordial, but Hammer made clear that alternative sources of international staff would be highly appreciated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had some pressures also during the Biden administration. But pressure grew under Trump,\u201d Occhiuto said. He told Hammer his government is working on incentives to lure Calabrian doctors home.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut at the same time, I have also reiterated to the U.S. Ambassador Hammer that I needed to keep hospitals open and that I intend to keep the Cuban doctors who are currently in Italy in their posts,\u201d Occhiuto said.<\/p>\n

He told the AP he would like to triple the Cuban medical staff to about 1,000 but has refrained to avoid running afoul of Washington.<\/p>\n

The State Department did not answer questions about the meeting. Occhiuto\u2019s office provided the AP with a photo of him meeting Hammer.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Cuban<\/p>\n

Cuban doctor Daysi Luperon Loforte talks with Teodoro Crea, a patient hospitalized in the emergency unit of the Santa Maria degli Ungheresi Hospital of Polistena, in the southern Italian Calabria region, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Valeria Ferraro)<\/p>\n

Cuban doctor Daysi Luperon Loforte talks with Teodoro Crea, a patient hospitalized in the emergency unit of the Santa Maria degli Ungheresi Hospital of Polistena, in the southern Italian Calabria region, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Valeria Ferraro)<\/p>\n

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The Calabria deal pays Cuban doctors directly<\/p>\n

Rather than paying the Cuban government agency that runs medical missions, Calabria signed individual contracts with the doctors and makes deposits in their Italian bank accounts.<\/p>\n

Cuban doctors told the AP they still send as much as half their salaries to the Cuban government.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all aware of the economic situation Cuba is going through. It\u2019s a contribution that we make voluntarily because Cuba trained us, educated us and made us doctors,\u201d Arevalo Cruz said.<\/p>\n

Cuban cardiologist Daisy Luperon Loforte echoed that sentiment: \u201cWe do not consider ourselves modern-day slaves at all, as somebody called it. We love our country, we give an economic contribution and we are happy to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Calabria governor confirmed that 63 Cuban doctors, some of them previously involved in Cuba\u2019s international medical mission, recently applied to work in its healthcare system independently.<\/p>\n

The Cuban government didn\u2019t comment on whether the doctors applied for positions outside the program.<\/p>\n

Patients are largely unaware of the diplomatic tensions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re smart, they have empathy and they\u2019re also humble \u2014 something you don\u2019t often see with Italian doctors,\u201d said a resident, Maria Morano. \u201cWe are lucky they came, otherwise our hospital would have been closed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"POLISTENA, Italy (AP) \u2014 Italy\u2019s southern Calabria region is the rare place in Europe where Cuba sends medical…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1540,21439,16638,9921,21435,21441,319,21407,241,21440,240,1139,18564,5,10420,7135,21438,21436,356,21437,5360,243],"class_list":["post-30837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italy","tag-central-america","tag-claudia-sheinbaum","tag-compensation-and-benefits","tag-cuba","tag-cuba-government","tag-daisy-luperon-loforte","tag-donald-trump","tag-emergency-care","tag-europe","tag-francesco-moschella","tag-general-news","tag-health","tag-health-care-industry","tag-italy","tag-latin-america","tag-marco-rubio","tag-maria-morano","tag-mike-hammer","tag-politics","tag-roberto-occhiuto","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}