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Cuban doctors file lawsuit against health agency with United Nations

Pan American Health Organization faces accusations of labor laws violations

DORAL, Fla. ā€“ A group of Cuban doctors filed a lawsuit Friday in Miami federal courtĀ against the Pan American Health Organization, or PAHO, part of the United Nations' system, alleging the organization violated labor laws.Ā Ā 

Sam Dubbin, of Dubbin & KravetzĀ & Associates in Coral Gables, is representing CubanĀ doctors, whoĀ claim PAHO, an international public health agency,Ā playedĀ a "principal role in the human trafficking of thousands of Cuban doctors and other healthcare professionals" since 2013.

Dubbin & KravetzĀ & Associates is also working with attorneys from Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, a firm with offices in Washington, D.C, where PAHO is based.Ā 

Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Carlos CurbeloĀ issued a statement siding with the doctors who filed the lawsuit saying the Cuban government has profited from "the human trafficking of medical professionals" and PAHOĀ has "facilitated the sale of Cuban medical labor to foreign countries."

PAHO supervised the MaisĀ Medicos program, a partnership between Cuba and Brazil underĀ former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff. Brazilā€™s new president-electĀ Jair BolsonaroĀ referred to the program as modern-day slavery.

Ā Diaz-Balart applauded the doctors who spoke against the Cuban government from Doral's City Hall.Ā 

"It takes tremendous courage for those trapped in Cubaā€™s medical professional exploitation scheme to describe the abuses that they have suffered," Diaz-Balart wrote.Ā  "I applaud their bravery in bringing these stories to light."


About the Authors
Andrea Torres headshot

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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