US Cancels US visa of Brazilian Health Minister’s Wife and Daughter

After canceling the American visas of public officials responsible for the Mais Médicos program, the United States has decided to extend this measure to the family of Health Minister Alexandre Padilha. On Friday (15), Padilha’s wife and daughter were informed via email that the US Consulate General in São Paulo had chosen to revoke the documents that could allow their entry into American territory. The information was confirmed to Valor by sources close to the minister. The background for this decision revolves around the Trump administration’s restrictions on Brazilian authorities due to Cuban professionals participating in the Mais Médicos program established in 2013 by Dilma Rousseff’s government. The US State Department justifies its actions by stating that Brazil had acted as a ‘complicit’ in the ‘coercive scheme of exporting Cuban workforce,’ exploiting Cuban medical workers through forced labor. They claim this scheme enriches the corrupt Cuban regime while depriving the Cuban people of essential medical care. As part of this offensive, the United States had already revoked the visas of Mozart Júlio Tabosa Sales and Alberto Kleiman earlier in the week, who were government officials during the Mais Médicos program formation. The reason given is because both ‘worked at the Brazilian Ministry of Health during the Mais Médicos program and played a role in the program’s planning and implementation.’ The Mais Médicos program was established in Brazil in 2013 during Dilma Rousseff’s presidency. Sources from Lula’s government see the US decision as evidence that Trump favors pressure over dialogue with Brazil, labeling it as applying ‘double standards’ since the same sanctions were not imposed on other countries with Cuban doctors, such as Italy. Minister Padilha recently criticized the US for revoking visas of Brazilian officials involved in the Mais Médicos program, stating, ‘We will not bow to those who persecute vaccines, researchers, science, and now, two key figures for Mais Médicos in my first term as Health Minister, Mozart Sales and Alberto Kleiman.’ The Mais Médicos program was relaunched by Lula in 2023 without contracting Cuban professionals. According to Padilha, during the two-year period, the government doubled the number of doctors in the project. In a statement, the minister defended the program, likening it to the Brazilian payment system PIX, saying that Mais Médicos ‘will survive the unwarranted attacks from anyone’ and emphasizing that ‘health and sovereignty are non-negotiable.’