Cuba has rejected the new report by the U.S. alleging that Havana has profited from exploiting its citizens through forced labor abroad saying its dishonest and an insult to Cuban health workers.

Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented a report claiming that Cuba, among other nations, has not done enough to combat trafficking in persons.

In particular, the report accused Cuba of running forced labor export programmes, specifically its foreign medical missions programme.

“State Secretary Blinken’s trafficking in persons allegations [versus] Cuba are a new repeated chapter of aggression against our people. It is also dishonest and an offense to Cuba’s health staff.

“They are a brazen repetition of the lies fabricated under the Trump administration to justify the aggression. They are evidence of political corruption.”

The former administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has previously raised the labor export programmes issue.

The allegations were repeatedly refuted by Cuba, which has sent 57 medical teams to support 40 countries during the coronavirus pandemic.

The inclusion of Cuba in the annual “Trafficking in Persons Report” and placing it in Tier 3,  the worst category could lead to the introduction of new sanctions and restrictions on access to international assistance.

Afghanistan, Algeria, China, Comoros, Cuba, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Venezuela are also classified under Tier 3 in 2021 State Department report.