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### Viewing cable 09CARACAS442, CUBAN MEDICAL PERSONNEL FLEE VENEZUELA

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09CARACAS442 | 2009-04-06 21:09 | 2010-11-30 21:09 | SECRET | Embassy Caracas

`

    VZCZCXRO0951
    PP RUEHAG RUEHROV
    DE RUEHCV #0442/01 0962149
    ZNY SSSSS ZZH
    P 062149Z APR 09
    FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2870
    INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
    RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS PRIORITY
    RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 7971
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA PRIORITY 1045
    RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY

` `

    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.

    -----------------------------
    CUBANS DOCTORS FLEE VENEZUELA
    -----------------------------

    ¶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.

    -------------------------------
    CUBAN MEDICS CLAIM MISTREATMENT
    -------------------------------

    ¶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."

    ----------------------------------------
    CORRUPTION, DESPERATION, GBRV CLAMP DOWN
    ----------------------------------------

    ¶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.

`