The Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation announced Thursday that eight members of their delegation have been refused entry visas to the United States for the upcoming World Baseball Classic tournament.
The tournament is slated to run from March 5-17, with Cuba scheduled to face off against Puerto Rico, Colombia, Panama and Canada during pool competition in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Federation president Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo and general secretary Carlos del Pino Muñoz were among those whose visa applications were rejected. Pitching coach Pedro Luis Lazo also had his request denied.
According to a source with direct knowledge of the situation, all Cuban athletes and coaching staff received visa approval except for Lazo. The source requested anonymity when speaking with The Associated Press Thursday since no official announcements regarding player visas have been released. The State Department refused to address the Cuban federation’s concerns, citing visa confidentiality regulations, though a U.S. official speaking anonymously confirmed that those denied visas were executives and officials rather than competing athletes.
“The United States’ response, after more than a month since these requests were submitted, ignores the reasons on which they are based, the most basic principles of sport, and the commitments assumed by the host countries of such events” the Federation said in a statement.
Cuba secured third place in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The squad has warm-up matches planned for next week in Arizona against the Kansas City Royals and Cincinnati Reds.
The island nation appears on a roster of seven countries facing US travel limitations, which also includes Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
In 2023, the Cacique Mara squad from Maracaibo, Venezuela, was refused US visas and consequently missed the Senior Baseball World Series.
The Cuban Federation stated it “will analyze how to proceed, and will inform in due course.”
