When Cuba heads to Arizona to continue preparations for the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Feb. 28, eight members of the delegation won’t be coming along for the trip.
Cuba, which is assigned to Pool A in San Juan, Puerto Rico, received word that the U.S. government had denied visas to eight persons who expected to be a part of Cuba’s team, including pitching coach Pedro Lazo and Federacion Cubana de Béisbol y Softbol president Juan Reynaldo Perez, according to multiple reports.
In addition to Perez and Lazo, Carlos del Pino, a scout, Raúl Fornés, the vice president of INDER, Cuba’s sports ministry, Gisleydi Sosa, the international relations director for INDER, and Judith Langaney, a member of the FCBS, were denied visas according to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.
“They … are part of the delegation with specific functions, established by the organizers for all the countries summoned, given the demands linked to the integral functioning of the delegations,” said in a statement issued in Spanish by the FCBS and published by JIT Deportivo, a Cuban sports website. “The visa denial adds to the complexities that marked the process of integrating the roster, subject to different deadlines than those set for the rest of the countries invited, due to the need for the organizers to have the permission of the United States Government, essential to invite Cuba.”
According to the FCBS statement, the U.S. government based the denial on Section 243(d) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the Secretary of State to suspend visa issuance to citizens of countries that refuse or unreasonably delay accepting their nationals who have been ordered removed from the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security website.
Using the USINA as the basis for the visa denial “disrespects the essence of the sport and the inherent responsibility of its participants, and places our delegation at a clear disadvantage. It is false that Cuba does not cooperate with the United States on immigration matters,” the statement said.
Major League Baseball, which runs the World Baseball Classic, still expects Cuba to participate in the event, according to a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
The Cuba team is currently on a four-game exhibition tour of Nicaragua, where they lost 6-1 to Nicaragua’s World Baseball Classic team in Rivas, Nicaragua, on Wednesday night. They’re expected to travel to Arizona after the series finale on Feb. 28, where they’ll face the Kansas City Royals on March 3 and the Cincinnati Reds on March 4 before heading to Puerto Rico for pool play.
Photo: Cuba pitching coach Pedro Lazo (99) relieves pitcher Carlos Viera (83) during the fourth inning of a World Baseball Classic game against the U.S., Sunday, March 19, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
