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The Cuban nationwide baseball group misplaced to the US 14–2 within the World Baseball Traditional semifinals Sunday night time in Miami. However that is not all it misplaced.
Bullpen catcher Iván Prieto did not be part of his teammates as they flew again to the communist island on Monday, staying in Miami, reported Pelota Cubana, which broke the story. The main points of his whereabouts—and whether or not he was picked up by members of the family at his resort, as some have speculated—stay unclear. The Miami Herald reported that Prieto merely “did not present up at Miami Worldwide Airport for the group’s flight to Havana.”
Why precisely Prieto selected to defect can also be unsure, however one can assume that it’s to pursue a profession within the MLB. For many years, Cuban gamers have been barred from becoming a member of the MLB as a result of U.S. commerce embargo, resulting in multiple defections. To offset this, the Baseball Federation of Cuba in 2019 proposed a take care of the MLB to permit a list of gamers to hitch the league with out having to defect. The Trump administration rejected that deal. For Cuban baseball gamers, abandoning their group whereas overseas is a technique to chase their desires.
It is also speculated that Prieto was sad with the nation assigning him as solely a bullpen catcher and never an official participant on the nationwide roster, seeing as he is generally known as among the finest catchers in Cuba, enjoying for the Alazanes de Granma team within the Cuban Nationwide Sequence. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel hasn’t commented on Prieto’s defection, although he congratulated the Cuban nationwide group on Twitter on its historic run.
Greater than 1 million folks of Cuban descent reside within the larger Miami space. As such, the stands at loanDepot park, the house stadium of the Miami Marlins, have been crammed with each proud expatriates and protesters against Cuba’s dictatorship. Particular person protesters ran onto the field all through the sport waving banners, one studying “Freedom for Cubans,” one other studying “Nation and Life.” One other protester unfolded one behind dwelling plate that learn, “Down the dictatorship.” As one protester was escorted off the sector, the stands erupted in a chant for libertad.
The U.S. embargo makes it harder for many who are attempting to depart the authoritarian regime to deliver their abilities right here, however some politicians are attempting to ease the journey. In January, the Biden administration announced new pathways for asylum for Cubans, and earlier this month, a bipartisan group of senators launched a invoice to lastly end the embargo.
Regardless of these efforts, as Anthony Fisher wrote for Motive in 2017, “free and unrestricted travel for Cubans remains to be prohibited, significantly for Cubans the federal government would relatively maintain in service of the motherland—reminiscent of docs and baseball stars.” Hundreds of Cuban gamers have defected through the years, many selecting to play American Main or Minor League Baseball.
Prieto’s future plans stay unclear, however he might very effectively be part of them in constructing a greater skilled life as an American baseball participant. “These high-value Cubans (like most Cubans) will nonetheless want to reside free from authorities repression,” wrote Fisher, “and earn a greater dwelling for themselves than they are going to ever be capable of do so long as the impoverished island is ruled by the same corrupt regime.” Simply because it has welcomed Cuban defectors earlier than, the U.S. ought to welcome Prieto—and prolong that angle towards others fleeing the authoritarian regime.
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