Cuban baseball players return from Miami without trophy but with plenty of shopping sprees
On Monday, the players of Team Asere, the Cuban team that failed to defeat the United States in the V World Baseball Classic, returned to the island without the tournament trophy but with numerous purchases.
Before boarding their flight to Havana, the athletes were seen with flat screen TVs, split air conditioners, tires and a large amount of suitcases.
Their return luggage contrasted with what they brought with them upon their arrival in Miami on March 16, which was much more limited, as evidenced by photographs in several Florida media.
According to La Familia Cubana, among the passengers on the return flight were officials of the Cuban Baseball Federation, the team’s management staff and players residing on the island.
The only one who did not board the plane was catcher Iván Prieto, who fled the hotel where the team was staying, sources in Miami confirmed.
Sports journalist Francys Romero reported on his social networks that Prieto is “the first player to leave the Cuban national team during a World Baseball Classic.”
It has not yet been revealed how the $1.5 million Cuba earned for reaching the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic will be distributed.
Pelota Cubana journalist Yordano Carmona stated that the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) cannot receive a single cent of that money and that it is so established in writing.
Sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department prevent payments to Cuban institutions, so the 50% that would correspond to the FCB will be given to the organizers of the tournament.
The remaining US$ 750,000 must be distributed among the 30 members of the sports delegation, i.e. US$ 25,000 each.
The professional athletes will be deposited in their bank accounts, but it is not clear how and if those who returned to the island will receive the money.
According to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the players of the 2nd and 3rd edition of the World Baseball Classic are owed 2.3 million dollars because the blockade prevents transfers to Cuba.
The amount granted to the Cuban baseball team was donated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Cuban athlete Sergio Reinaldo González Bayard could not receive 28,000 dollars as a prize in the World Beach Volleyball Circuit.
Other cases are those of referees Ricardo Borroto Iglesias and Lourdes Ester Pérez, who could not receive US$9,282 and US$8,680, respectively, for services rendered in various international events.
In addition, the Cuban Volleyball Federation could not access the prizes obtained by the men’s indoor team in the Challenger tournaments held in Portugal (4th place in 2018) and Slovenia (2nd place in 2019), for a total of 7000 dollars.
