Mexico City –
In Mexico, two Cuban baseball players tried to flee their team quarters during a tournament. As the Mexican police said on Friday, 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 Ávalosda left their national team’s headquarters during a rest day on Wednesday after their team qualified for the semifinals.
Cuba with the worst economic crisis in decades
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 decades, 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. 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. (afp)
