Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin described the experience of the Cuban ophthalmology brigade that has provided services in Montevideo for 18 years as extraordinary.

The foreign minister responded to a report by journalist Gabriel Pereyra on Radio Sarandí regarding Washington's warning that Uruguay could be included on a "blacklist" of countries that "contract slave labor."

That serves as the pretext with which Washington pressures third countries that receive medical collaboration from the Caribbean island.

According to the information, this would imply that the White House could suspend military aid to the South American country.

Asked about the matter, Lubetkin said that no "official communication from the United States on this specific issue" had been received, though he acknowledged that "this is one of the many topics on which we are in dialogue."

He emphasized that the experience of Cuban eye doctors in Uruguay has been extraordinary.

"They have given sight to many, many people, outside of any political or ideological connotation," he stated.

"Experiences that are positive we want to preserve and we will preserve, naturally, within a framework of agreement and dialogue with all actors and with our counterpart countries, so that we are all comfortable," the chancellor said.

However, he acknowledged that with Washington, "we dialogue on this and other topics" because "in foreign policy, dialogue is a permanent thing, to find and pave the way when there are concerns."

He specified that this "group of Cuban professionals has done very good things, and the very good things we have to preserve and we will preserve."

Around twenty Cuban health professionals work at the "José Martí" Eye Hospital in the capital and have restored vision to thousands of Uruguayans with more than 120,000 surgical interventions, as well as many more consultations.

On Saturdays, the Cuban doctors conduct screenings in towns in the interior to identify patients and guide them toward solving their ailments.

They have the recognition of the population, local governments, municipalities, political and social organizations, the Social Security Bank, and particularly the National Organization of Retirees and Pensioners Associations (Onajpu).