By Leif Skodnick
World Baseball Network
The Cuban Professional Baseball Federation tweeted last night that they had received a communication from Team Renteria, the organizer of the 2024 Intercontinental Series, that the event scheduled for late January has been cancelled.
In the communication posted to X, the organizers cancelled the event “for reasons unrelated to our organization.”
“The leagues, teams, and entities involved have expressed their full willingness for the series to take place, however, the Ministry of Sports, together with the Olympic Committee, issued a statement expressing that it was not possible to grant endorsement for the holding of the series. tournament, in addition to the non-recognition of the FEPCUBE team, which is one of the participants,” the communication stated.
Team Renteria’s facebook page has not issued a statement regarding the Intercontinental Series. World Baseball Network is trying to reach Team Renteria for comment.
Earlier in the week, reports indicated that the Cuban Professional Baseball Federation, or FEPCUBE, and the Colombian government had been notified of the Cuban government’s objection to FEPCUBE’s use of the Cuban flag and national anthem, as well as the country’s name and the slogan “Patria y Vida”, by a group of players who they do not view as Cuban.
FEPCUBE announced that they have changed their team name slogan for “Patria Y Vida” to “Dream Team” due to the political conflicts from the El Ministerio de Deportes de Colombia and the Colombia Olympic Committee, Francys Romero of beisbolfr.com reported on January 9.
The cancellation comes as FEPCUBE’s team was preparing for the tournament at Miami-Dade College.
Following the cancellation, Romero, a prominent ex-patriate Cuban baseball writer and commentator, suggested that the Instituto Nacional de Deportes Educación Física y Recreación en Cuba, or INDER, and the Federacion Cubana de Beisbol, influenced the Colombian government’s decision in a post on X.
He also tweeted a screenshot of a communication from the Colombian Ministry of Sports and the Colombian Olympic Committee that stated those organizations reject FEPCUBE’s use of the name, symbols, and representation of Cuba.
In the post on X, Romero questioned the ownership of the symbols.
“And since when do the name of Cuba and the symbols belong to the prevailing regime or are these the ones that order their correct use? This is a statement with more pain than glory. Tomorrow no one will remember it,” Romero posted in Spanish of the statement from the Colombian organization.