MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico will continue to have Cuban doctors work in Mexico. She made the statement at her morning press briefing when asked if she would uphold the Cuban doctor agreement or yield to Trump administration pressures.

"It's a bilateral agreement that helps Mexico a lot," Sheinbaum said. She said it is difficult to recruit Mexican doctors and specialists to work in many rural areas and that Cuban doctors are willing to work there.

"We can't forget all the help Cuban doctors have offered during the COVID-19 pandemic and in rural areas across the country," she said.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed measures that effectively cut Cuba off from oil imports. The U.S. government has sought to isolate Cuba in an effort to push for regime change. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Cuban medical missions constituted forced labor and a form of human trafficking.

Honduras and Jamaica have shut down the Cuban medical missions and sent Cuban doctors home. The exact number of Cuban doctors currently working in Mexico is unknown.

Mexico's government halted oil shipments to Cuba after President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any nation sending oil to Cuba. After halting oil shipments, Mexico's government sent aid shipments to Cuba and sought to provide assistance through other measures.

Cuba deploys doctors, often highly skilled in providing care with scarce resources, as a means of diplomacy. Cuban doctors have provided medical services in rural areas of Latin America, including the Amazon and parts of Central America, where basic medical infrastructure is lacking.

Mexico sent oil shipments to Cuba for years to help address energy shortages. Mexico has maintained diplomatic support for Cuba since the Cuban Revolution.