By: Omar Silva | National Perspective Belize

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

 Belize City: Saturday 29th March 2025

📰 Editorial |

As U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wraps up his whirlwind trip to Jamaica, Guyana, and Suriname, Caribbean leaders are being applauded for standing firmly on principle—particularly in their defense of Cuba's long-standing medical cooperation with the region.

In Jamaica and Guyana, Prime Minister Andrew Holness and President Irfaan Ali, respectively, both made it unmistakably clear: Cuban doctors are not victims of forced labor, as claimed by the Trump-era U.S. narrative that still lingers in Washington's policy circles. Instead, they are essential pillars of regional healthcare systems—filling gaps in human capital, especially in countries grappling with chronic shortages of specialists and frontline medical staff.

Yet amid this moment of regional courage and clarity, Belize is curiously silent.

While Minister of Health and Wellness Kevin Bernard and Prime Minister John Briceño have, on separate occasions, acknowledged Cuba’s vital contribution to Belize's health sector—especially in rural care, medical scholarships, and emergency services—the Government of Belize has never taken an official public stance to either repudiate or support the U.S. allegations against Cuba’s international medical brigades.

This diplomatic ambivalence is both disappointing and revealing.

Belize, like many of its CARICOM neighbors, has benefited tremendously from Cuban solidarity for decades. From the days of Hurricane Mitch to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuban doctors have stood on Belizean soil—not as tools of coercion, but as partners in care. They have saved lives, trained local physicians, and provided services that our fragile health system could not have sustained on its own.

The Briceño administration’s failure to articulate a clear position, even as other Caribbean leaders rise to the moment, is a missed opportunity—not only to stand in regional solidarity, but to express diplomatic maturity in the face of recycled Cold War narratives.

Worse still, this silence may be interpreted as tacit approval of the Trump-era policies that continue to undermine Cuba's humanitarian efforts and punish the very people who deliver health care to the poor across the region.

Secretary Rubio’s surprisingly measured tone—acknowledging that "perhaps none of this applies in the way it's handled here"—suggests that U.S. officials may be open to nuanced understandings. But such understanding must be earned through clarity and conviction, not cautious ambiguity.

In this age of shifting global power and assertive regional diplomacy, Belize cannot afford to be the weak link in CARICOM—especially not on a matter that touches the very heart of people-centered development. The defense of Cuba’s medical program is not merely symbolic; it is a call to defend regional dignity, sovereignty, and gratitude.

If we as Belizeans value the principle of solidarity among small nations, and if we genuinely recognize the contributions of the Cuban people to our health, education, and development, then now is the time for the Government of Belize to find its voice.

Belize must step forward—not just as a beneficiary of Cuba’s support—but as a nation with a conscience and a spine.