WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott released the following statement after reports from the Miami Herald that Cuba has made a profit of over $70 million dollars from its “medical missions” in Algeria, and has yet to pay any of the physicians in the program.

Senator Rick Scott said, “This is the latest example of Cuba actively engaging in human trafficking with their sham ‘medical program.’ This is not about helping anyone. Cuba uses this program as a way to funnel money to their regime and rarely pays a living wage to the physicians they force to work in other countries. Cuba is using the Coronavirus pandemic for profit at the expense of these hardworking physicians. We cannot allow it. Any country that requests medical assistance from Cuba is aiding their human trafficking efforts. The international community must stand against the use of forced labor and the Cuban regime’s exploitation of this crisis.”

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