Vincy PM Gonsalves willing to lose US Visa for Cubans

“Out of the blue we’re being called human traffickers because we hire technical people who we pay top dollars equal to local rates but we’re now being accused of taking part in the programme where people are being exploited. That is someone’s interpretation,” Rowley said of the Trump administration policy.

Dr Rowley said he was willing to surrender further trips to the US in an effort to ensure T&T’s position is not taken lightly.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has come out in defence of Trinidad and Tobago’s sovereignty following the recent threat of US visa restrictions announced by President Donald Trump administration against governments utilising Cuba’s overseas medical missions. The programme, which has been vital to healthcare systems across the region for decades, has been described in a report by the Trump administration as constituting “forced labour” and a form of “human trafficking”.

However, while delivering the feature address at the ceremony to mark the practical completion of the $1.3 billion Port-of-Spain General Hospital Central Block yesterday, Rowley took aim at the Trump policy and reaffirmed this country’s relation with Cuba.

“We rely heavily on healthcare specialists whom we have obtained from India, the Philippines, and mainly from Cuba over the decades.

“Out of the blue we’re being called human traffickers because we hire technical people who we pay top dollars equal to local rates but we’re now being accused of taking part in the programme where people are being exploited. That is someone’s interpretation,” Rowley said of the Trump administration policy.