I just noticed something quite interesting in Latin American politics lately. Honduras has just announced that it will end its Cuban medical program this week, with nearly 130 healthcare professionals returning to the island. But this is not an isolated case, right? It’s part of a much broader strategy.

What’s happening is that Trump has returned to the White House with a clear mission: to economically suffocate Cuba. And Honduras is just the latest to yield to the pressure. Before that, Guatemala reduced its program from 412 Cuban workers. Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada... the list is growing. Even Trump’s diplomat, Mike Hammer, visited Italy this week to pressure a regional government to abandon the program. It’s quite direct.

What’s fascinating here is understanding why this pressure works. Cuba’s medical missions generated billions of dollars in foreign currency for the regime. In 2018, it was $6.3 billion; by 2020, it dropped to $3.9 billion. With nearly 24,000 professionals working in 56 countries, these brigades were one of the main sources of income alongside tourism. Now, that flow is drying up.

Specifically in Honduras, cooperation flourished under Xiomara Castro. Cuba had 150 doctors, operated five ophthalmological laboratories, and 278 Honduran students studied there. But Nasry Asfura, the new president who took office at the end of January, is realigning the country with Washington. Trump even supported him in the electoral campaign last year.

Now the question many are asking is obvious: what will be the next? Mexico has a complex historical relationship with Cuba, and frankly, if the pressure works in Honduras and Guatemala, why not in Mexico? The Trump administration is demonstrating that it can use diplomacy quite effectively to isolate Havana. It’s a calculated move that is redefining alliances in the region.