Venezuela

Executive summary

Since October 2000, Cuba's medical mission in Venezuela has operated under the "Misión Especial Venezuela" framework, persisting for 26 years until its accelerated evacuation beginning January 2026, driven by the collapse of oil-for-services payments. Official figures show marked discrepancies with independent testimonies—personnel counts fluctuated from 43,496 (2015) to 13,000 (2025), while medical statistics were systematically falsified to inflate patient numbers. Documented labour violations include passport confiscation, residential curfews after 6:00pm, forced continuation despite resignation requests, and abrupt repatriations. Professionals were also compelled into political activity, barred from treating opposition sympathizers. Behind Barrio Adentro's humanitarian façade lay a machinery of coerced labour. Deserting doctors became refugees from the very solidarity they were sent to embody.

Mission data

Research profile