Following Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic damage throughout Florida’s gulf coast, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) met with the Florida Farm Bureau as well as local agricultural producers, farmers, and growers to discuss the storm’s impact. Photos are courtesy of...
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Photos: Rubio Visits Barrier Islands Post-Hurricane Helene
Following Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic damage throughout Florida’s Gulf Coast, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) met with local officials and volunteers from the barrier islands to discuss the storm’s impact and current recovery efforts. Photos are courtesy of...
Rubio, Scott, Florida Colleagues to POTUS: Expedite Resources to Floridians
Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm, causing catastrophic damage along Florida’s Gulf Coast. It’s crucial for the federal government to expedite state-requested resources and authorize key policy flexibilities in order for Floridians to make a swift...
Rubio Staff Hosts Hurricane Helene Recovery Assistance
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host two in-person events to assist constituents affected by Hurricane Helene and help navigate applications for FEMA assistance. Food, water, and additional resources will be available at the events. Event...
Next Week: Rubio Staff Hosts Mobile Office Hours
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host in-person and virtual Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their respective local communities. These office hours offer constituents who do not live close to one of...
Rubio, Scott Urge FEMA to Expedite Hurricane Reimbursements
Following the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Debby, some local governments in Florida face looming budget shortfalls that could disrupt disaster recovery efforts. If these local governments receive reimbursements for past hurricanes from the Federal Emergency...
English/ Español: Rubio, Menendez Reintroduce Legislation to Combat Human Trafficking of Cuban Doctors
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) re-introduced the Combatting Trafficking of Cuban Doctors Act of 2021. This bipartisan legislation seeks to strengthen accountability measures addressing the Cuban regime’s human trafficking and exploitation of Cuban doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals deployed on so-called “foreign medical missions.” In addition to requiring new reporting on the forced labor conditions faced by Cuban doctors in countries around the world, the bill re-establishes the Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program, suspended under the Obama Administration.
“There is no doubt that the Cuban dictatorship’s so-called ‘medical missions abroad’ are a coercive trap,” Rubio said. “The Castro and Díaz-Canel regime can attempt to disguise these missions as humanitarian efforts, but the reality is they’re state-sponsored human trafficking brigades. Cuban doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are subjected to deplorable working conditions, confiscation of their legal forms of identification, and significantly reduced compensation. The U.S. has a moral duty to combat this scheme and hold accountable the perpetrators of these abuses.”
“Cuba’s medical missions, which on the surface appear motivated by humanitarian concern and empathy, are in reality coercive state-sponsored human trafficking schemes that ensnare Cuban medical professionals in indentured servitude,” Menendez said. “It is unacceptable that the Cuban regime has continued to exploit doctors and nurses for profit, withholding their passports, retaliating against their families, and manipulating them through other forms of pressure and intimidation. Frontline healthcare workers deserve nothing less than our abounding admiration and gratitude, especially as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. I applaud the introduction of this bipartisan legislation as we offer the United States as a safe haven for those Cuban medical professionals seeking refuge from the regime.”
Rubio is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee Overseeing Western Hemisphere.
Menendez is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
RUBIO, MENÉNDEZ, REINTRODUCEN PROYECTO DE LEY PARA COMBATIR LA TRATA DE MÉDICOS CUBANOS
Washington, D.C. — Los senadores estadounidenses Marco Rubio (R-FL) y Bob Menendez (D-NJ) reintrodujeron el Proyecto de Ley para Combatir la Trata de Médicos Cubanos del 2021. Esta legislación fortalecerá las medidas para que el régimen cubano rinda cuentas por la trata de personas y la explotación de médicos, enfermeros, y otros profesionales de la salud cubanos que son explotados a través de las llamadas ‘misiones medicas’ al extranjero. Además de requerir nuevos informes sobre las condiciones de trabajo forzoso al que se enfrentan los doctores cubanos en países alrededor del mundo. La ley también restablece el Programa de Libertad Condicional para los Médicos Profesionales, suspendida bajo la administración del Presidente Barack Obama para permitir que los médicos cubanos elegibles y sus familiares directos vengan a los Estados Unidos.
“No hay duda de que las llamadas ‘misiones médicas en el exterior’ del régimen cubano son una trampa coercitiva,” Rubio dijo. “El régimen de Castro y Díaz-Canel puede tratar de disfrazar estas misiones como esfuerzos humanitarios, pero la realidad es que son brigadas de trata de personas patrocinadas por el Estado. Los médicos, enfermeros y otros profesionales de la salud cubanos están sujetos a condiciones de trabajo deplorables, confiscaciones de sus documentos legales y una compensación significativamente reducida. EE.UU. tiene un deber moral de combatir estos esquemas y hacer que los perpetradores de estos abusos rindan cuentas”.
“Las misiones médicas de Cuba, que en la superficie aparentan ser motivadas por esfuerzos humanitarios y empáticos, son en realidad esquemas coercitivos de trata de personas del régimen que solo enganchan a profesionales médicos cubanos en servidumbre por contrato”, Menéndez dijo. “Es inaceptable que el régimen cubano haya seguido explotando a los médicos y enfermeros con fines de lucro, reteniendo sus pasaportes, tomando represalias contra sus familiares y manipulándolos a través de otras formas de presión e intimidación. Los trabajadores de la salud de primera línea merecen nada menos que nuestra admiración y gratitud, especialmente a medida que la pandemia del COVID-19 continúa azotando al mundo. Por eso aplaudo la presentación de este proyecto de ley bipartidista para continuar asegurándonos que los Estados Unidos sea un refugio seguro para aquellos profesionales médicos cubanos que buscan amparo y protección del régimen”.
Rubio es el vicepresidente del Comité de Inteligencia en el senado y el Miembro de más Alto Rango del Subcomité de Relaciones Exteriores en el senado que supervisa temas de Latinoamérica.
Menéndez es el presidente de la Comisión de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado.