Cuban baseball players defect during World Cup tournament in Mexico
At least nine members of a Cuban national baseball team have defected during a tournament in Mexico. The players were participating in the Under-23 World Cup in the northern state of Sonora.
The defections occurred after the Cuban team lost the tournament’s bronze medal game to Colombia on Saturday. The identities of the defectors were not released, but 24 players traveled to the tournament.
Since the country’s revolution ended in 1959, Cuban athletes have often defected while competing in tournaments outside the island. However, the defection of nine players is one of the biggest such losses the country has ever experienced.
The incident was described as “vile abandonments” by state media and Cuba’s National Sports Institute.
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-9-cuban-baseball-players-defect-world-cup-mexico-20211004-4oc25hqxangn7otl36fs6h2sty-story.html