Cuba's baseball association is outraged and disappointed: Two players from the team try to flee during a tournament in Mexico - they would have turned their backs on their "duty to the people". However, the escape attempt does not end in the interests of the players.
In Mexico, two Cuban baseball players tried to flee their team quarters during a tournament. The Mexican police said on Friday that the two athletes were found "safe" in the city of Aguascalientes, where the Pan American U23 baseball championship is currently taking place. The two were handed over to the Cuban authorities.
The Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) reported on Thursday that 23-year-old catcher Alfredo Fadraga and 21-year-old pitcher Yosvani Ávalos left their national team's headquarters during a rest day on Wednesday after their team qualified for the semifinals. They had turned their backs on the "obligation to the people" and committed "reprehensible acts", according to a statement by the FCB.
For months, Cuba has been experiencing the worst economic crisis in almost 30 years, which is driving many people to flee. The background to the crisis is the consequences of the corona pandemic and tightening of US sanctions against the communist-ruled country. Because of the economic, but also the political situation, there are not only numerous escape attempts in Cuba, but also repeated protest demonstrations. It was only on Friday that participants in mass protests critical of the government last July were sentenced to long prison terms.
Several athletes have already fled Cuba in recent months. Earlier in the week, four karate athletes left the Cuban team at a training camp in Guatemala. In recent months, Ismael Borrero, Olympic wrestling champion in 2016, and Fernando Dayán Jorge, Olympic canoe champion at the Tokyo 2021 Games, have left the country, among others.
