Mariheta Cutino, coordinator of the Cuban medical brigade in this nation, underscored in a simple and moving farewell ceremony that the doctors are leaving with their morale unbroken, not because they have failed.

  Addressing a representative of the Cuban diplomatic corps in Cuba, Dr. Cutino emphasized the pressure exerted by the United States government, a form of blackmail against a group of countries that had no alternative but to put an end to the humanitarian agreements.

  The doctor pointed to “that brutal empire that maintains a criminal economic and financial blockade against our homeland,” conveying that it could not thwart the Cuban professionals’ commitment to solidarity.

  She described it as an honor to speak on behalf of the thousands of men and women who comprised the Cuban Medical Brigade in Guatemala, beginning on November 5, 1998.

  Cutino gave a brief overview of the leading milestones of the collaboration in this nation since April 29, 1999, when the first bilateral cooperation agreement in health matters was signed.

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