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Over 700 Cuban doctors working in Venezuela have fled across to Colombia

Tuesday, August 25th 2015 - 15:01 UTC
Full article 13 comments

Deteriorating conditions in Venezuela are causing increasing numbers of Cuban medical personnel working there to immigrate to the United States under a special US program launched in 2006 that expedites their applications. Read full article

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  • LEPRecon

    I wonder why these doctors would want to flee the socialist paradise of Venezuela?

    I wonder why they don't want to return to the communist paradise of Cuba?

    Answers on a postcard to....

    Aug 25th, 2015 - 06:55 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ilsen

    First they may have to cross through the State of Tachira, which Maduro has just decreed Martial Law.

    Aug 25th, 2015 - 07:25 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ElaineB

    The 50,000 Cuban troops in Venezuela haven't made a run for it then?

    Aug 25th, 2015 - 07:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Skip

    Colombia has benefitted massively from the talent escaping Venezuela. However the influx that will occur when Chavismo collapses might be too much I think.

    Aug 25th, 2015 - 09:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • yankeeboy

    Skip, I have a lot of friends living in Colombia and they're all complaining about the Venezuelans in their country.
    They're not getting the cream of the crop.
    They all left a long time ago and now reside in Canada and Florida.

    Aug 26th, 2015 - 02:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • gordo1

    Britain is in need of GPs - why not investigate the possibility of inviting these doctors to the UK?

    Aug 26th, 2015 - 06:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ElaineB

    @6 It is a plan but surely they would need to retrain.

    Aug 26th, 2015 - 07:58 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Skip

    Yankeeboy

    As well as having lived with Colombians continuously for 4 years and spending time in Colombia, I can tell you that Colombia is benefitting quite handsomely from the middle class and educated that is escaping Venezuela.

    While plenty are leaving for other countries including even Australia, it doesn't mean that that there isn't plenty to go around.

    Most Colombians have an extremely low opinion of Chavismo and are treating Venezuelans with a degree of schadenfreude as the shoe is now on the other foot after so many decades. It is hardly surprising they are complaining about Venezuelans.

    Venezuelan migrants to the US have remained static over the 10 years - the worse years under Chavismo.

    Aug 26th, 2015 - 01:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ilsen

    @3 ElaineB
    Surely just a matter of time?
    Or we haven't heard yet?
    :-)

    Also, the reason that PDVSA is so ineffectual, incompetent and uncompetitive is because nearly all the skilled engineers and quality management fled to Colombia and elsewhere. They were forced out and replaced by the ex - military chavista faithful.

    Who don't have a clue.
    Except how to line their pockets.
    US$ billions are missing.
    That's the sad truth.
    :-(

    Aug 26th, 2015 - 02:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Jack Bauer

    @6 gordo1
    While Brazil 'imported' several thousand Cuban 'doctors' in 2014, right before the elections - purely as a political manoeuvre to show “how much” the Federal government was doing for the Public Health Service - it is notorious that they are lacking in qualification.
    A couple of years ago, 182 Cuban doctors were brought in as an experiment, they were submitted to the obligatory revalidation exam (“Revalida”) for all foreign doctors wanting to work in Brazil, and only 9 (nine) passed . Doesn't say much for the quality of health they'll be dispensing to the poorer people in towns far away from the large centres. The question is, how can Cuba, with roughly 10 milion inhabitants, and non-existent infrastructure, produce so many doctors for export ?? they are limited to a superficial theoretical curriculum and have little or no practical training...plus the fact that the reasons why Brazilian doctors don't want to go to these smaller towns are, first the lousy pay, and second, the complete lack of any semblance to hospital infrastructure. It's like importing cooks to combat hunger when there is a lack of food.
    Despite all this, and the protests from the Federal Medical Council, the Brazilian Government went ahead with it...the only explanation, besides the political agenda, is to get money of of the country and send it to Cuba.....still a safe haven for the corrupt Lulla and DumbAss Dilma.

    Aug 26th, 2015 - 08:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Don Alberto

    @ 6 gordo1 who writes: “Britain is in need of GPs - why not investigate the possibility of inviting these doctors to the UK?”
    Perhaps not such a good idea:

    “Most Cuban trained doctors fail basic test to practice medicine in Chile”
    http://en.mercopress.com/2012/01/25/most-cuban-trained-doctors-fail-basic-test-to-practice-medicine-in-chile

    Aug 26th, 2015 - 09:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • gordo1

    OK - it was just a thought!

    Aug 27th, 2015 - 06:07 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ElaineB

    That's what I thought. Let us not forget that they bollocksed up Fidel's operations so they had to bring in Russian doctors to try to fix it. They did even worse with Chavez.

    Aug 27th, 2015 - 07:20 am - Link - Report abuse 0

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