No information about the reported deaths of two Cuban doctors in Somalia: ‘The outrage is overwhelming’

On February 17, the Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militia Al-Shabaab announced on its Telegram channel that two Cuban doctors abducted nearly five years ago in Kenya had reportedly died in an American drone strike in Jilib, Somalia, where they were providing “services to the community.” More than a week later, Cuba, Kenya and Somalia have been unable to confirm the report or locate the doctors.

According to Al-Shabaab, the drone bombing began at 12:10 p.m., “instantly killing Assel Herrera and Landy Rodríguez.” The doctors went to Kenya in 2018 as part of a medical brigade consisting of 100 healthcare workers. The militia’s Telegram post denounced the “desperate attack” by the United States Africa Command (Africom) in Somalia, where the U.S. government has maintained a military force since the early 2000s: “The incompetence of the American crusaders and their defective intelligence apparatus has led to the murder of the two hostages.”

Al-Shabaab included two photos of a body, potentially Herrera, with no official confirmation yet. Africom, at Somalia’s request, acknowledged conducting the airstrike in “collective self-defense” and promised further details after ongoing investigations.

The news garnered global media attention and demoralized the families of Herrera and Rodríguez. They have held onto hope for the doctors’ rescue following years of promises and negotiations by the governments of Cuba and Kenya.

Family and friends are outraged

“There’s a lot of frustration among family, friends and coworkers,” said Dr. Wilson Nieves, who grew up with Herrera in the town of Delicias (eastern Cuba). The two doctors have been friends since primary school and attended medical school together. “I’ve been through a lot of pain and sadness about this. It’s been on my mind every day. I even messaged him birthday wishes on Messenger, not knowing if he’d see it. He was just a really good person. The outrage is overwhelming.”

Nieves said the Cuban government built a “very nice house” for Herrera’s relatives in Delicias, but this does not make up for the loss. “Now there’s a daughter without a father, a grieving widow, and parents who will always miss their child. The family and neighbors are just heartbroken. Getting a new house doesn’t make that pain disappear.”

The convoy carrying Herrera (a general practitioner) and Rodríguez (a surgeon) was intercepted after a firefight on April 12, 2019, in Mandera, Kenya, near the Somali border. The Cubans were kidnapped and have been providing healthcare to the terrorist group all these years. Despite the lack of news, the Kenyan government has repeatedly confirmed their well-being. In 2019, Al-Shabab demanded a $1.5 million ransom, which Kenya refused to pay.

The news of their death caused anger in Cuba, particularly after President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s tweeted his condolences on X, saying that Cuba “remains hopeful of finding them alive.” Comments on the tweet said the two men were abandoned by a government that did “absolutely nothing” to get them back in five years, and accused the Cuban government of “sending people to die in other countries.”

The Cuban Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Public Health, and Health Minister José Angel Portal Miranda all assured that they maintain constant contact with Kenyan and Somali authorities and pledged to provide updates on the incident promptly. National Assembly President Esteban Lazo was dispatched to Kenya to meet with Kenyan President William Ruto and obtain more information. The Pentagon also confirmed it would launch an investigation of the incident.

Cuban missions in Kenya

Kenya began hosting Cuban doctors in 2017 for its Universal Health Coverage program. Over 100 Cuban doctors were sent to Kenya, and 50 Kenyans went to Cuba for medical training. At the time, healthcare workers in Kenya were striking for higher pay, causing tension when the Cuban doctors arrived. The Health Committee of Kenya’s National Assembly stated that Cuban doctors were paid a monthly salary of around $4,257, with $851 going to the doctor and $3,406 to the Cuban government. Kenyan doctors, on the other hand, earn $1,600-$2,300, according to Kenya’s Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

In 2021, the two nations signed new medical collaboration agreements. However, in 2023, the Kenyan government announced it would not extend the six-year agreement to contract Cuban doctors. “We opted not to extend the agreement with Cuban doctors since I believe our local doctors are committed to their profession,” said Health Minister Nakhumicha Wafula.

The reported deaths of Herrera and Rodríguez has sparked renewed debate in Cuba about medical missions that used to be the biggest source of revenue for the economy, even more than tourism. As of 2021, the official government newspaper Granma reported that approximately 450,000 Cuban health professionals have served in 160 countries. Dr. Jorge Delgado Bustillo, director of the Central Medical Cooperation Unit, said that Cuban doctors have treated nearly 1.98 billion people over 60 years, “which is almost a third of the global population.” They’ve performed 14.5 million surgeries, assisted in 4.4 million births, and saved 8.7 million lives.

The Cuban medical missions have faced domestic and international criticism, and the United Nations has denounced them on three occasions. In 2023, Tomoya Obokata, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, acknowledged the “benefits of Cuban cooperation” but also cited allegations of “forced labor.” Concerns include poor working conditions, lack of freedom, passport confiscation, threats by employers, lack of employment contracts, and the Cuban Penal Code’s provisions for mission non-compliance, including prison terms.

The U.N. rapporteur also highlighted the issue of compensation for Cuban medical personnel on overseas missions. The Cuban doctors are often paid well below the average in host countries. For instance, in Calabria, Italy, Cuban doctors are paid a monthly salary of €4,700 ($5,100), but €3,500 ($3,800) goes to the Cuban government. In countries like Saudi Arabia, Ghana, and Seychelles, doctors must remit 50% of their pay to the Cuban government.

Cuban health professionals have long criticized their inadequate pay. Recently, Mexico’s National Institute of Transparency, Information Access, and Personal Data Protection (INAI) alleged that the Cuban government withheld 94.4% of the salaries owed to doctors who were in Cuba during the pandemic. The Cuban Social Audit Observatory (OCAC) reported that from 2009-2022, the government pulled in nearly $70 billion from Cuban medical brigades working abroad.

“[Cuban] doctors endure these circumstances and even tougher ones,” said Javier Larrondo, president of the Prisoners Defenders organization that worked with the United Nations investigating the Cuban medical missions. “The Cuban government isn’t concerned about the well-being of its doctors, just their economic output. Doctors bring in $7-$11 billion annually, but Cuba’s entire public health budget is only around $65 million.” Still, many Cubans opt for foreign medical missions over staying in a country with worsening work conditions and meager salaries that are barely enough to live on.

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