Cuban Presence in Baseball Caribbean Series Confirmed

The Caribbean Confederation of Professional Baseball today confirmed the presence of Cuba in the upcoming Caribbean Series, scheduled from February 2 to 8 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In a statement that appears on its website, the regional body denied comments by some media about the possible absence of Cuba, and confirmed that the archipelago will be in the Caribbean games.

We have not declared that Cuba will not participate. Cuba is making the preparations necessary to participate; obtaining visas for the players and all its delegation, said emphatically the Confederation commissioner Juan Francisco Puello.

The leader of the organization said he has been in constant contact with the leaders of the Cuban Baseball Federation, and reported that the Roberto Clemente League of Puerto Rico already bought plane tickets for the entire team and booked the hotel for the Cuban delegation.

Less than a month before the start of the competition, Puello said that the only pending issue is the approval of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US (OFAC), which should come at any time, he said.

Cuba's team requires special permission from the US government, under the extraterritorial measures associated with the economic, commercial and financial blockade for over half a century Washington maintains against Cuba.

The monarch of the Cuban championship, Pinar del Río, will search for the title at the Stadium Hiram Bithrom, in San Juan, facing the holders of the Leagues in Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Puerto Rico, yet to be defined.