Cuba: When Politics Tramples on Dreams
Dream Team of Cuban Baseball Players, the Original Sin of Exile Legitimacy
By Vicente Morin Aguado
HAVANA TIMES – On January 17, Cubans received some bad news: the Intercontinental Baseball Series scheduled for Barranquilla, Colombia, six days later, was canceled. The private organizing entity, Team Renteria, claimed that the fatal decision was due to reasons beyond their control, linked to the Colombian Ministry of Sports and their Olympic Committee.
The source of discord was the unprecedented participation of a team from Cuba, made up of professional athletes who play in various leagues in countries where the extensive national diaspora is located. The players, escaping the tight control exercised by the government of Havana over sports, have created their own sports entity called the Cuban Professional Baseball Federation (FEPCUBE).
The mere existence of an organization attempting to represent Cuba outside the clutches of the Communist Party regime is an unacceptable challenge for the Plaza de la Revolución.
The Caribbean city of Barranquilla, where the stadium named after national idol Edgar Rentería is located, was an excellent choice for Colombian and continental baseball. However, Mindeportes, the governing entity of the host country for the Cup, now led by former M-19 guerrilla Gustavo Petro, had warned on January 9th:
“The Ministry of Sports rejects the actions and statements of the Professional Cuban Baseball Federation – FEPCUBE – which seeks to use the name, representation, and patriotic symbols of the Republic of Cuba without the respective authorization from the competent body of the country of origin and without the recognition of the Colombian government or sports authorities of our country.”
There is no doubt that, first and foremost, the political issue is shielded by a legal situation. Indeed, there is the Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation (FCBS), officially recognized internationally, even by MLB, the governing body of professional baseball in the United States and organizer of its flagship event, the World Baseball Classic.
Although it is evident that so-called non-governmental organizations in Cuba are under the control of the Communist Party-state duo, effectively functioning as state enterprises, this situation does not change the fact that they operate outside the country like their counterparts in other democratic nations. It is a contradictory duality exploited by the Cuban government to impose its political objectives, but its existence unfortunately cannot be ignored.
FEPCUBE understood the issue at the last minute when they learned of Mindeportes’ statement, responding with conciliatory measures: The team pledged not to use the name Cuba, nor to hoist the official symbols of the country, and they wouldn’t even sing the national anthem.
Although obviously indignant because national symbols belong to everyone born in a country regardless of where they live or what their ideology is, the players also agreed to avoid political slogans, including “Patria y Vida,” the title and chorus of a Latin Grammy-winning song that has identified opponents since the massive anti-government protests of July 11, 2021, of which a thousand remain imprisoned.
Among many coinciding statements, Henry Urrutia, contracted in the Dominican Republic, wrote in X: “Cuba is carried in the heart, and there is a lot of passion behind our participation in Colombia.” Meanwhile, the Technical Director and former MLB player, Bryan Peña, clarified: “The phrase ‘Patria y Vida’ is with us in the heart. There are things we cannot control, but what we can control is representing those free Cubans who so much want us to take the field.”
It should be noted that FEPCUBE was not usurping the place of FCBS. The director of the latter organization made the following statements, reproduced in the Havana weekly JIT:
“Federation official Juan Reynaldo Pérez Pardo had acknowledged that Cuba received the tournament invitation and after pertinent studies (…) we understood that it was not an official event and decided not to participate.”
JIT’s digital page, a Cuban expression of the English word HIT associated with baseball, continues to tell us:
“FCBS never rejected the realization of the Intercontinental Series but rather the presence of the usurper FEPCUBE and its purpose to exploit the scenario for a vulgar political show and not a sports celebration as fans deserve.”
However, there was no indication that Cuban players intended vulgar or, even less, unsportsmanlike behavior. Many of those called up in Miami, such as the Florida Marlins superstar Yulieski Gourriel, were previously pillars of the performances that brought the national team to the forefront in the world during the years of Fidel Castro’s Olympic triumphalism. Castro used to showcase himself alongside these athletes, like war trophies.
The lackeys of the Cuban regime know very well that the mere presence of these authentic sports stars, especially under the humiliation of preventing them from wearing national attributes, would trigger a tsunami of sympathies for Cuba’s kidnapped freedom. In Havana, it is no secret; they have been forced to acknowledge it even in the muzzled press, that “more than 635 athletes of any age and through various means have left Cuba in the last six years,” as reported by Trabajadores, the union’s newspaper.
Athletes, like doctors and other professionals, are victims of state exploitation, exported as a workforce under contracts whose representation is assumed by the State, using sports federations.
The longest dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere has managed to monopolize the representation of the word Cuba in the world. The slightest deviation from this precept is seen in the Plaza de la Revolución as the cross shown to the Devil.
This December marked a decade since President Obama granted dictator Raul Castro the legitimacy of the world’s leading democracy by restoring full diplomatic relations between the two countries. Exiles have fought hard to regain freedom; however, to this day, a consensus capable of showing a united representation abroad, acceptable to governments and international institutions, has not been achieved.
The original sin of legitimacy still awaits its exorcism. Cuban players, true to the grit that has always accompanied them, have not given up. Team Rentería states:
“The leagues, teams, and entities involved have expressed all their willingness for the Series to take place. Team Rentería USA, as the tournament organizer, will work hand in hand with affiliated leagues to hold the Series in another country.”