Sao Paulo (Brazil), Aug 14 (AP) Brazil health minister has said his government's programme criticized by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio 'will survive.'
Alexandre Padilha made the comments via social media shortly after the Trump administration stepped up sanctions targeting a Cuban government programme that sends Cuban doctors abroad, including to Brazil.
US officials say the initiative amounts to forced labour.
“This programme saves lives and it is approved by those who matter most; the Brazilian people,” Padilha said of Mais Medicos (meaning “More Doctors” in Portuguese).
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he was imposing visa restrictions on an unspecified number of Brazilian, Grenadan and other officials due to what he described as “complicit third-country government officials and individuals responsible for Cuba's exploitative labour export programme.”
Brazil's government says Mais Medicos currently has almost 25,000 medical professionals operating in Brazil but did not provide figures on how many of those are Cuban. (AP) NPK
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