The Cacique Mara youth baseball team from Maracaibo, Venezuela, was not granted entry visas into the United States. As a result, they are unable to compete in this year’s Senior Baseball World Series. The team only qualified recently, winning the Latin American championship in Mexico last month. Just two weeks ago, they flew back from Bogotá, Colombia, where they had gone to apply for their US visas. Travel restrictions imposed due to national security worries have forced a monumental shift on the tournament. The Venezuelan side will be swapped out by the team from Santa Maria de Aguayo in Tamaulipas, Mexico, which qualified as runners-up of the Latin American championship.
Venezuela is one of numerous countries grappling with ever-tightening barriers to entry into the United States. Political and Religious Motives Under the guise of national security, President Donald Trump banned travel to 12 countries. This ruling has resulted in years of confusion and contention. The recent turn of events has put the Venezuelan team in a position to tussle with their profound disappointment and frustration at their failure to compete.
The president of the players’ league in Venezuela, Kendrick Gutiérrez, called the rejection of the visas “devastating.” He expressed his discontent with the sudden replacement of the Mexican national squad by Venezuela.
“I don’t understand why they put Mexico in at the last minute and left Venezuela out.” – Kendrick Gutiérrez
Gutiérrez said she was extremely disappointed and concerned about the ways these travel restrictions affect young athletes. He said that what was going on was unprecedented and unfair.
“It begins Saturday. I think this is the first time this has happened, but it shouldn’t end this way. They’re going to replace us with another team because relations have been severed; it’s not fair.” – Kendrick Gutiérrez
Not long after the initial rejection, Little League International officially announced that the Venezuelan team had been denied visas. They lamented the circumstances as “incredibly disheartening” for the young runners at stake. On its part, the league has recognized the emotional impact this decision has had on players and their families.
The team’s representatives made their anger known — and often. They described it as a “mockery” and said they were “bitterly upset” for their players who had aspired to play in the world championship.
“It is a mockery on the part of Little League to keep us here in Bogotá with the hope that our children can fulfill their dreams of participating in a world championship.” – The Venezuelan team
Their sentiments underscore a larger issue about how shifting geopolitical tensions can affect youth sports and prospects for young athletes.
The 58th Senior Baseball World Series is scheduled to open on Saturday. Despite these great representatives, the loss of the Cacique Mara team is a big hit for Venezuelan baseball. This is very similar to both of those recent cases with other teams. Indeed, like the Cuban women’s volleyball team, who faced similar visa denials when attempting to compete abroad,