Cuban Team Arrives in U.S. for WBC Training Amid Visa Tensions

Cuba’s national baseball team arrived in Phoenix, Arizona after staged travel and held an evening training session on March 2 before two final preseason exhibitions, En Cibercuba reported. The team was scheduled to play the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, March 3 and the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, March 4 at Surprise, Ariz., then fly to San Juan to open Pool A on March 6 at 11 a.m. Eastern against Panama, World Baseball Network and the New York Times reported.

Reports about U.S. visa decisions for the delegation remain contradictory. The New York Times reported that “No Cuban players have been denied entry … The team’s 30-man roster has been cleared to enter the U.S.” At the same time, the Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation, cited by Ncnewsonline, said “Eight members of Cuba's delegation were denied visas to the United States for the World Baseball Classic.” Reuters, as reported by the New York Times, named Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, Carlos del Pino Muñoz, and Pedro Luis Lazo Iglesias among officials barred from travel.

The Phoenix stop capped a preparatory campaign that began with a four-game exhibition tour in Nicaragua. Tico Times reported the Nicaragua series ran through Feb. 27 at Managua’s Estadio Nacional Soberania, with the Cuban squad traveling to Nicaragua in three groups beginning Feb. 16 via layovers in Panama after Nicaragua’s Feb. 8 visa requirement and Conviasa’s suspension of the Havana-Managua route on Feb. 10 forced alternate routing.

While in Arizona, the club planned workouts at the Kansas City Royals’ spring facility in Surprise, Ariz., before its exhibitions against major-league clubs on March 3 and 4, World Baseball Network and the New York Times reported. After those games, the delegation expected to travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico for Pool A play alongside Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama and Colombia; En Cibercuba noted that Cuba will need U.S. visas to enter Puerto Rico and that requirement has affected logistical preparations.

Manager German Mesa, speaking after a 3-1 win against Nicaragua in León, declined to discuss visa matters, saying in Spanish, “I can’t talk to you about that because I’m not the one responsible for that area.” The Nicaragua warmups followed logistical scouting and planning by advance personnel, Tico Times said, as officials confirmed matches would proceed across four cities despite travel disruptions.

The VI World Baseball Classic schedule runs March 5–17, with Group B opening on March 5 and the remaining groups beginning March 6; quarterfinals are set for March 13–14 in Houston and Miami, semifinals March 15–16 in Miami, and the final on March 17 at LoanDepot Park in Miami, En Cibercuba listed. En Cibercuba also highlighted long-standing domestic practices around tours, writing that “Those officials take advantage of these tours to make purchases, spend abroad, and represent the government institutionally, while also supervising and monitoring the athletes to prevent potential abandonments or defections.”

As the roster trained in Phoenix and prepared to face the Royals and Reds, conflicting public reports about denied visas for delegation members and the identities of those affected leave final travel details to San Juan unclear even as Cuba moves toward its March 6 opener.