BY CARLOS RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press
A Venezuelan baseball team was denied visas into the United States and will miss this year’s Senior Baseball World Series, Little League International confirmed Friday.
The Cacique Mara team, from Maracaibo, Venezuela, was scheduled to participate in the tournament after winning the Latin American championship in Mexico.
“The Cacique Mara Little League team from Venezuela was unfortunately unable to obtain the appropriate visas to travel to the Senior League Baseball World Series,” Little League International said in a statement, adding that it is “extremely disappointing, especially to these young athletes.”
The Venezuelan team traveled to Colombia two weeks ago to apply for their visas at the U.S. embassy in Bogotá.
The embassy did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.
“It is a mockery on the part of Little League to keep us here in Bogotá with the hope that our children can fulfill their dreams of participating in a world championship,” the team said in a statement. “What do we do with so much injustice, what do we do with the pain that was caused to our children?”
Venezuela is among a list of countries with restrictions for entering the U.S. or its territories. President Donald Trump has banned travel to the U.S. from 12 other countries, citing national security concerns.
Earlier in the month, the Cuban women’s volleyball team was denied visas to participate in a tournament in Puerto Rico.
“They told us that Venezuela is on a list because Trump says Venezuelans are a threat to the security of his state, of his country,” said Kendrick Gutiérrez, the league’s president in Venezuela. “It hasn’t been easy the situation; we earned the right to represent Latin America in the World Championship.”
The Senior League Baseball World Series, a tournament for players aged 13-16, is played each year in Easley, South Carolina. It begins Saturday.
The tournament organizers replaced the Venezuelans with the Santa Maria de Aguayo team from Tamaulipas, Mexico, the team that was a runner-up in the Latin American championship.
“I think this is the first time this has happened, but it shouldn’t end this way. They’re going to replace us with another team because relations have been severed; it’s not fair,” Gutiérrez added. “I don’t understand why they put Mexico in at the last minute and left Venezuela out.”
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