Honduras will cancel its agreement with Cuba; 169 doctors will have to leave the country

Tegucigalpa. The Honduran government will cancel an agreement with Cuba and end the stay of a group of 169 doctors from the island who provide services in the Central American country, Communications Minister José Augusto Argueta confirmed this Tuesday

“This agreement will be terminated because it does not meet the basic requirements for this group to be classified as a medical brigade,” Argueta told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He explained that according to Honduran law, a medical brigade can only remain in Honduras for 90 days, but this group of doctors has been working here since 2024.

The arrival of the Cuban doctors was part of an agreement signed by the then government of President Xiomara Castro with its Cuban counterpart to install ophthalmological and other specialty centers offering free care in Honduras.

The agreement will be abolished in the coming days, the minister noted, while pointing out that the matter is now in the hands of the Honduran Foreign Ministry.

Regarding possible pressure from the United States government on Honduras at a time when it is experiencing tensions with Cuba and an oil embargo against the island, Argueta dismissed that situation and maintained that the decision is due to the "violation of Honduran regulations and law."