SUBJECT: CUBAN MEDICAL PERSONNEL FLEE VENEZUELA!

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000442

SIPDIS

HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

EMBASSY BOGOTA FOR REF CORD (SHIGGINS)

DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)

DEPARTMENT PASS TO G/TIP (BFLECK)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2034

TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KTIP VE CU

SUBJECT: CUBAN MEDICAL PERSONNEL FLEE VENEZUELA

CARACAS 00000442 001.2 OF 003

Classified By: Political Counselor Francisco Fernandez,

Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

¶1. (C) Summary: Embassy Caracas notes a significant number

of Cuban medical personnel applying to be paroled into the

United States under the Significant Public Benefit Parole

(SPBP) for Cuban Medical Professionals outside of Cuba

(CMPP). During Consular Section interviews in March, Cuban

Medical personnel affiliated with Chavez's Barrio Adentro

program complained of poor working conditions, inadequate

medical supplies, and of constantly being watched and

monitored by coworkers. As result of the Government of the

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (GBRV) clamp down on Cubans

attempting to flee the island through Venezuela, recent

asylum seekers have complained of having difficulty in

exiting Venezuela and being forced to pay exorbitant bribes

to GBRV officials when attempting to leave the country

en-route to Miami. End Summary.

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CUBANS DOCTORS FLEE VENEZUELA

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¶2. (S) The Consular Section at US Embassy Caracas began

accepting applications for SPBP on August 18, 2006. To date,

the Embassy has received paperwork and forwarded to the

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) applications for 739

Cuban asylum seekers, of which 69% or 510 were approved, 91

were denied and 138 are pending. Since February of 2009, DHS

has notified Post that 73 Cuban Medical Personnel Program

(CMPP) applicants have been approved for parole through the

CMPP.

¶3. (S) In 2006 and 2007 Embassy Caracas facilitated travel

to Miami for program applicants through the issuance of

transportation letters authorizing Cubans to board US bound

aircraft. By October 2007, Venezuelan immigration officials

began refusing to board defecting Cubans on onward flights to

Miami in an unpredictable and ad-hoc manner. To enhance

fraud protection due to insecurity of the travel letter, (one

letter was used by an imposture), Post sought and received CA

approval to issue YY visa foils instead of transportation

letters. Having a visa foil in their passports has

facilitated the departure of most parolees. The Consular

Section began issuing YY visa foils in February 2009 to

approved Cuban Medical Parolees. Of the 73 approved CMPP

applicants in 2009, 43 have been issued YY visa foils, 39

have successfully passed through immigration and boarded

their flight to Miami, and two have confirmed plans to travel

in the near future. Thirty approved applicants have not yet

confirmed travel plans because they currently are unable to

travel, do not have the financial resources to leave

Venezuela, or have been forced to return to Cuba. Two

applicants were unsuccessful in their attempt to leave

Venezuela from the Barcelona (Venezuela) airport. Note: Most

CMPP applicants departing from the Caracas airport have been

successful in boarding their flight to Miami. Following the

approval of parole by DHS, CMPP applicants must enter the US

within 60 days. End Note.

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CUBAN MEDICS CLAIM MISTREATMENT

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¶4. (C) The majority of the CMPP applicants interviewed by

Post were originally conscripted to work in social programs

such as Mission Barrio Adentro, a GBRV sponsored program that

provides health care to city slums and rural communities, or

similar GBRV poverty reduction programs in medicine, sports,

and the arts. In its annual 2008 report, the Caracas based

human rights NGO PROVEA estimated that 14,345 Cuban medical

professionals were originally assigned to work in Venezuela

following the inauguration of Barrio Adentro in December

¶2003. Currently only about 8,500 Cubans are estimated to be

employed in social programs across the country. While some

CMPP applicants told Consular officials they volunteered to

come to Venezuela, many others have complained of being

forced (or directed) by Cuban authorities to work in

Venezuela under President Chavez's social mission programs

for a period of 1-3 years.

CARACAS 00000442 002.2 OF 003

¶5. (C) Many CMPP applicants have reported that upon arrival

in Venezuela, Barrio Adentro Mission officials have

confiscated the passports of program participants to prevent

their fleeing the mission. According to one applicant who

was interviewed on January 27, 2009, the coordinator of the

Cuban medical mission (Barrio Adentro 2, Aragua state) had

been holding his and his other colleagues' passports since

April 2008, when another Cuban had abandoned the mission, as

a "means of preventing other desertions." The applicant did

not receive his passport back until he went on a scheduled

vacation in September 2008 to Cuba. Upon his return to

Venezuela in October 2008 he was not required by mission

authorities to turn over his passport a second time. The

CMPP applicant received Significant Public Benefit Parole on

March 2, 2009, was issued a YY visa foil, successfully fled

Venezuela, and arrived in Miami on March 16, 2009.

¶6. (C) During Consular section interviews in March, Cuban

medical personnel affiliated with Chavez's Barrio Adentro

program complained of extremely poor working conditions, low

pay, limited medical supplies, and of constantly being

watched and monitored by co-workers. According to one doctor

who successfully fled on March 10, "All the effort I put into

my work is not recognized by anyone... I am not well paid and

only make 715 BsF (332 USD) a month in Venezuela, I want to

change my life." The doctor told Consular Officers that he

is forced to attend to 250-300 patients a week and "can only

use obsolete and inferior Cuban medicine". A rehabilitation

therapist who successfully fled on March 16 opined, "I feel

politically manipulated. The system is closing my chances

and I want to be a better professional. I have a lack of

equipment and medicine in my job. I want to be a free man.

I want to be a surgeon specialist." On March 30 one CMPP

applicant, who managed to escape his mission for several

hours and was clearly anxious to return before his supervisor

realized he was gone, told Poloff "They are always watching

us, checking in with us at random times, asking what we are

doing and calling us on our cell phones." While noting that

he has not received any physical threats so far during his

time in Venezuela, he commented "It is a psychological battle

that we must endure every day."

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CORRUPTION, DESPERATION, GBRV CLAMP DOWN

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¶7. (S) The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of

Venezuela (GBRV) began clamping down on Cubans attempting to

flee the island via Venezuela in 2007. While many applicants

have successfully fled Cuba through Venezuela, others have

been detained upon attempting to depart and presumably

deported to Cuba. Recent asylum seekers have complained of

having to pay exorbitant bribes (usually around 1,000 USD) to

Venezuelan customs officials when attempting to exit the

country en-route to Miami.

¶8. (S) As recently as March 24 a Cuban couple attempted to

board a flight from Barcelona (Venezuela) to Miami after the

US Embassy issued YY visa foils for their onward travel. The

couple paid over 4,600 USD to "a contact" to assist them in

clearing GBRV immigration. After their flight was delayed and

a shift change occurred at the airport, the couple was

questioned by Venezuelan immigration authorities who turned

them over to the National Guard. The military later

contacted Cuban officials. The couple was eventually moved

to a hotel by Cuban "security" and told they would be

deported to Cuba. The CMPP applicants later escaped their

captors and fled to the US Embassy, where a local contact

picked them up and reportedly took them into hiding. The

traumatized couple told US Consular officers the Cuban

"police" who detained them were also "Barrio Adentro Mission

officials". According to the female CMPP applicant, the

"Cuban police" threatened to rape her and beat up her

boyfriend. Note: Recent CMPP applicants have reported to

Consular Officers that after leaving Barrio Adentro,

occasionally some Venezuelans are willing to help Cubans who

are in hiding. Little is known about the individuals who

assist Cuban medical personnel once they abandon Chavez's

"missions." End Note.

¶9. (S) Comment: Due to the risk CMPP applicants have of

being stopped by GBRV authorities prior to boarding Miami

CARACAS 00000442 003.2 OF 003

bound aircraft, some Cuban parolees have considered (or are

considering) undertaking a cross border overland trip to

Bogota. While Post does not advise parolees on which route

(if any) is less risky, the issuance of YY visa foils by Post

has reduced the probability of GBRV immigration officials

detecting a parolee prior to his or her departure. Post

believes, however, that it is only a matter of time before

GBRV immigration officials become alert to the YY visa foils

and are able to further tighten the GBRV's clamp down on

Cubans planning to abandon the social missions and flee the

country. With the February approval of 73 applicants by DHS,

(over 25 applicants have been issued YY visa foils in the

past two weeks alone), and more cases pending approval, Post

continues to meet the demand of Cuban medical personnel

hoping to flee Venezuela rather than face the prospect of

returning to Cuba. End Comment.

 

Fonte: www.wikileaks.ch