Normalization of US-Cuba relations: Cuba pardons deserting doctors who applied for US parole program

Physicians were attracted by the higher salaries offered through the medical missions set up by the Cuban government abroad.
Those who opted to apply for the Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program traveled to Colombia, where they waited for their US visas to be approved.
In Cuba, which has one of the highest doctor-patient ratios in the world, there are 85,000 physicians – one for every 130 residents.
The Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program created by the Republicans in 2006 has become one of the stumbling blocks in the ongoing talks between Washington and Havana aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations.
It is estimated that thousands of physicians, nurses and other medical professionals applied for the US program, which was aimed at weakening Cuba’s public health system.

Fuente: http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/10/13/inenglish/1444727301_397398.html