Cuba's Qatar Contract

Cuba’s foreign medical missions have long been a core source of soft power and hard income. As Latin American deals dwindle amid sociopolitical crises, Middle Eastern wealth offers a lucrative market.

Qatar and Cuba have struck a secret deal that pays physicians a fraction of what other foreign medics earn, while the Cuban government rakes in fees for leased-out doctors.

Physicians say they are being exploited as commodities and subject to draconian rules like surrendering their passports on arrival. Others call the foreign gigs a lucrative opportunity—and see it as a collective good for a struggling country.

The Guardian