Dozens Of Cuban Doctors Stranded In Colombia Will Travel To The United States

Dozens Of Cuban Doctors Stranded In Colombia Will Travel To The United
States / 14ymedio, Mario Penton

14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 2 February 2017 — Dozens of Cuban doctors
stranded in Colombia are preparing to travel to the United States on
Monday after receiving a visa as part of the recently repealed Cuban
Medical Professional Parole (CMPP) program.

The doctors will be the first to reach North American soil after the end
of the program that, every year, sheltered every year hundreds of health
professionals who escaped from Cuban medical missions abroad.

"There will be more than 20 of us who will fly on Monday, because
another flight planned for Friday was suspended," explains Maikel
Palacios by telephone from Bogota.

The health worker, who spent six months in Colombia after escaping from
the Cuban medical mission in Venezuela, says he lives in "an atmosphere
of hope among the hundreds of physicians stranded in that country."

"The news that comes to us from Miami is encouraging. Solidarity Without
Borders has been interested in our case," he explains.

Solidarity Without Borders is a non-governmental organization created by
Cuban doctors who fled the countries to which the Cuban Government had
sent them. Its purpose is to help colleagues, once they arrive in the
United States to revalidate their titles and integrate into that
country's medical system.

According to Palacios, dozens of visas have been issued since last
January when former President Barack Obama, in a surprise move, gave in
to the old request of the government of Raul Castro and repealed the
program created by George Bush in 2006.

The export of health personnel generated income for Cuba ion the order
of US $8.2 billion in 2014.

In the ten years of existence of the CMPP more than 8,000 doctors and
health personnel escaped to the United States.

"We are worried about more than 20 professionals who escaped the mission
before the program was eliminated and now they have no way to reach the
United States and cannot return to Cuba," Palacios explains.

Personnel who leave medical missions are prohibited from returning to
Cuba for eight years and are considered "deserters" by the Cuban
authorities.

Source: Dozens Of Cuban Doctors Stranded In Colombia Will Travel To The
United States / 14ymedio, Mario Penton – Translating Cuba -
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