Man to plead guilty in Florida to smuggling Cuban baseball star to U.S.

Man to plead guilty in Florida to smuggling Cuban baseball star to U.S.
Fecha de publicación: 
12 December 2014
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A Florida man faces 10 years in prison after deciding to plead guilty to helping smuggle Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Yasiel Puig out of Cuba, court documents filed this week indicated.

Gilberto Suarez is accused of paying $250,000 to a group connected to a Mexican drug cartel to get Puig to the United States in exchange for a slice of his Major League Baseball Contract.

He is expected to enter a guilty plea to a charge of conspiring to bring in or harbor aliens at a court hearing on Dec. 16, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami.

In 2012, after defecting from Cuba, Puig, now 24, signed a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Dodgers.

Major League Baseball has voiced its concern about the role of human traffickers in assisting Cuban players to leave the f country. But it says policies are not to blame.

Federal prosecutors are seeking to seize a home and condominium owned by Suarez, as well as two bank accounts, a 2014 Mercedes-Benz, and nearly $3 million that he earned from the operation, according to a September indictment.

His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

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