By Crispian Balmer
ROME, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Cuban doctors are essential to keeping local hospitals running in Italy's southern Calabria region, its governor told a senior U.S. diplomat on Monday, rebuffing Washington's effort to halt the recruitment of medics from the Caribbean island.
However, Roberto Occhiuto said in a statement that he had told Mike Hammer, the U.S. charge d'affaires to Cuba, he would review plans to hire even more Cuban doctors this year and seek hospital staff from other parts of the world.
Washington announced in January that Cuba posed an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security -- a claim Havana has rejected -- and is looking to squeeze its economy.
Bloomberg reported last week that Hammer was travelling to Italy as part of a U.S. push to curtail Havana's lucrative overseas medical missions -- including in Calabria, which signed a deal in 2023 to bring in nearly 500 Cuban doctors.
"We discussed the urgent needs of Calabria's health system and the complexities surrounding the Cuban doctors' mission," Occhiuto said after the talks with Hammer. "The Cuban doctors who are allowing us to keep hospitals and emergency rooms open are still a necessity for our region," he added.
There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials in Italy.
Italy has traditionally trained its own medical workforce, but low pay, burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and fierce competition for specialists in fields such as emergency medicine have hollowed out staffing levels, particularly in the south.
The remote region of Calabria in particular has been grappling with a chronic shortage of medical staff for years and Occhiuto had been planning to expand the Cuba deal.
"I had intended, in 2026, to increase the mission of Cuban doctors to as many as 1,000 Caribbean medical staff," he said, but added that he was now exploring "an alternative path" and advertising for applications from elsewhere.
"Our region is ready to welcome all doctors, from within the EU, from outside the EU, and Cubans not tied to the existing mission, who independently want to come work in Calabria," he said.
However, Occhiuto told Reuters in 2023 that Calabria, one of the poorest regions in Italy, had struggled to offer competitive salaries, throwing him into the arms of Havana, which hires out its medics generating vital revenue for the island.
The U.S. State Department has said Cuba's medical missions amount to human trafficking -- a charge Cuba and Occhiuto have denied.
U.S. President Donald Trump is piling pressure on Havana by targeting its economy, including imposing a comprehensive fuel blockade which has led to prolonged blackouts across Cuba.
(Additional reporting by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Toby Chopra)
