A Cuban doctor, along with a nurse and another woman, was shot dead at a hospital on the outskirts of Mexico City on Friday. State of Mexico prosecutors said Monday that the hospital was located in a rough neighborhood of Ecatepec.

The shooting comes as Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador faces criticism for his policy of importing Cuban doctors to work in dangerous or remote neighborhoods, according to the Associated Press.

Because of the policy, the Mexican government hired hundreds of doctors from Cuba and assigned them to work where Mexican doctors fear to work, such as in areas too dangerous, controlled by drug cartels and gangs, or too remote.

The Cuban doctor was identified by his sister as Ernesto Oliva Legra. Authorities have yet to reveal the identities of the slain nurse and the other woman.

Cuban Doctor at Mexico Hospital Killed by Two Armed Men

According to Infobae, Ernesto Oliva Legra served as a doctor for the maternal and pediatric unit of the hospital. His life ended after two armed men barged into the hospital, asking for a female patient. However, the hospital receptionist had no records of the woman they were looking for.

The two men started threatening employees at the hospital. They then forced the receptionist to open the door to a medical care area on the second floor, where they opened fire and killed the nurse and another woman while the Cuban doctor was wounded.

Oliva Legra was immediately transferred to another hospital for specialized care but eventually succumbed to his injuries. Local media said the nurse was a young female in her 20s, while the other female victim was a visitor who was visiting a relative undergoing treatment.

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Murdered Cuban Doctor in Mexico Not Part of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's Doctor Importation Policy

While critics of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador were using the Cuban doctor's death as an example of why his policy of importing doctors from Cuba was not a good idea, Ernesto Oliva Legra was not a part of this policy. According to local news, he was already staying in Mexico for three years before the policy was even announced.

According to ABC News, Mexican gangs have been known to enter hospitals at gunpoint in order to hunt down an injured target fleeing to a hospital to seek medical attention. This practice has sparked a wave of violence in recent years toward medical professionals such as doctors and nurses.

It forced doctors and nurses to refuse assignments to far-flung areas or areas known for gang or cartel activity. In July, the death of a young Mexican doctor named Erick David Andrade sparked protests from young medical graduates in Mexico City.

Young medical school graduates in Mexico are often assigned to dangerous areas during the first year of their careers. It has been said that this is often part of their training and is mandatory for all who graduate from medical school.

However, the protesters wanted to change that practice due to the recent deaths. Andrade was killed in the Mexican state of Durango by suspected members of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Lopez Obrador has already acknowledged that these young doctors are reluctant to serve in these remote places because of the rising violence, and this was the president's reason for his act of importing doctors from Cuba.

However, the doctors said that importing doctors from other countries was not the answer, as these doctors will be the ones exposed to danger.

READ MORE: Mexico: Young Doctor Killed While Treating Patient, Death Sparks Protests

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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