US-Cuba: When Sports Depend on Your Passport
HAVANA TIMES – Who would’ve thought that before spiking a volleyball in Puerto Rico, the Cuban women’s national team would first have to spike through the US. visa process at the embassy? Because that’s exactly what they couldn’t do just a few days ago: get a visa to play — yes, play — in the Norceca Final Four tournament.
The Cuban Volleyball Federation confirmed it: twelve athletes, one referee, and several coaches were left with their bags packed and uniforms folded — but no tournament. The players’ reaction was as logical as it was heartbreaking: total disappointment.
There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing politics step onto the court, where instead of a whistle, it’s a consular denial that signals the match’s start.
The Cuban volleyball players weren’t going to spy, invade a military base, or spread communism on the beaches of Manatí. They were going to play volleyball in an official tournament.
It’s a sad precedent of what could lie ahead for Cuban athletes in upcoming events held on United States soil.
The visas were denied — and with them, their ranking points and months of training. Everything ended up in bureaucratic limbo, despite the old adage that “politics has no place in sports.”
Why the visa denial?
Cuba is among the 19 countries placed under new US travel restrictions due to “national security” concerns.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated incident. It feels like an ongoing saga where sports are trapped between customs checkpoints, blacklists, and foreign policies that deny not just visas, but opportunities.
In April 2025, 14 Cuban track and field athletes were also denied entry to Florida to compete in the World Masters Indoor Championships. And in May, three top officials from the Cuban Olympic Committee were barred from attending a meeting in Miami. Coincidences? More likely a pattern — and keep in mind, the 2028 Olympics will be in Los Angeles.
And what about international sports agreements, Olympic principles, and that lofty phrase about sports uniting people? They’re doing just fine, thanks — locked away in a drawer at the State Department.
Every country has the right to decide who enters its territory. But when you agree to host internationaltournaments — and yes, international implies the presence of other nationalities — you also take on a responsibility: to let all teams participate.
That’s the theory, anyway. In practice, competing against the US on the sports field is getting harder if you’re Cuban. Training harder or playing better isn’t enough anymore. Now you have to pass a geopolitical filter, and there’s no way to train for that.
The Norceca Final Four wasn’t just a throwaway tournament. It awarded key points for qualifying for the Volleyball Nations League and, down the road, the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. But for the Cuban team, the road was blocked before they could even start.
The ban doesn’t only affect Cuba. It changes the outlook for all teams involved. A level playing field? Not anymore. Fair rankings? Unlikely. Tournament credibility? Let’s just say… questionable. When one team is missing, it’s no longer a proper sporting event — it’s an exhibition with empty spots.
Worst of all, this might just be the beginning. Remember the 2006 World Baseball Classic, when Cuba was nearly excluded until the last minute? Get ready for a sequel in 2026 — this time with more suspense and less diplomacy.
If things aren’t sorted out in advance, as journalist Yasel Porto said on Facebook, we might see a Cuban team losing every game “by forfeit.” Something truly unprecedented.
When an athlete has to worry more about a passport stamp than their opponent, it’s no longer sports. If this situation isn’t addressed, it won’t just be Cuba’s problem — it’ll be a low blow to global fair play.
At this rate, soon we’ll need a politically correct passport just to play in peace. And that, more than unjust, is absurd.
Consider this a warning: this movie will have more chapters.
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First published in Spanish by El Toque and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
As deplorable as rejecting the Visas for athletes who wish to travel to the United States seems to be, it is pablum in comparison to the many other offenses of the Trump administration. If it makes anyone who feels bad for Cuban athletes feel any better, what the Castro dictatorship does to Cuban athletes and every other Cuban is far worse. In fact, when Cuban athletes get the chance to travel outside of Cuba, it is a welcome respite from the daily hell of living in Cuba has come to be. That’s the saddest part of all of this.
Your people are struggling on the streets with no food no power no water no toilet paper and you guys have sports teams? Where are the government’s f****** priorities when it comes to helping their people? Somebody needs to go into Cuba and take over and save the people and they need to do it now. The Cubans are some of the nicest people in the entire face of the planet but the one that’s running it is damn near Satan himself doing that to his own people starving on the streets no electricity no running f****** water It’s disgusting.
I have been to Cuba like 7 or 8 times in 10 years. I have good friends there. I feel what Trump is doing to your country is wrong.
I understand they want to play volleyball. But you should realize what Trump is like. He put more restrictions on your country
Look what he has done to non registered people. Even people who are citizens in the USA.
Why would you think you would be allowed to play in a tournament.
Sorry but I live in Canada and I would not even drive over the boarder. They are checking people’s cell phones on what they are saying about Trump or what ever. Two Canadian people died in ICE detention center’s.
My point. Why would you even attempt it. If I won’t and I am Canadian.
Hope they get Trump and his cronies out and have a better world.