US accused of pressuring Latin America to cut ties with Cuban doctors program

Cuba accuses US of extorting' countries in pushing them to axe deals with Havana to send doctors on medical missions

Cuba's foreign minister has accused the United States of extorting" Latin American countries by putting pressure on them to cancel decades-old deals with Havana for the supply of doctors.

Bruno Rodriguez said the United States was trying to strangle" the economy of the communist island, which earns billions from its foreign medical missions, after several countries stopped deploying Cuban doctors.