HAVANA — The Cuban ladies’s nationwide volleyball workforce was denied an opportunity to play in a match in Puerto Rico following the brand new visa restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Cuban Volleyball Federation stated final week that the workforce, comprising 12 athletes, a referee and a number of other coaches, had their visa request denied and will likely be unable to attend the match later this month.
“The frustration is large as a result of I prepare daily, each hour of coaching is main as much as this and dedicate myself to it,” nationwide workforce participant Laura Suarez instructed The Related Press. “It is actually disappointing not to have the ability to take part within the competitors, which is what I have been making ready myself for.
Cuba was scheduled to play within the NORCECA Girls’s Last 4 match in Manatí, Puerto Rico. The match contains Puerto Rico, Mexico and Costa Rica and it awards rating factors towards qualification for the Volleyball Nations League.
“We have been centered on the competitors as a result of it is proper there,” stated Dayana Martínez, one other participant. “Arriving on the embassy and being denied the visa impacts us quite a bit as a result of that competitors offers us factors to enhance our rating,”
The Cuban workforce’s coach, Wilfredo Robinson, stated the choice means his workforce is prone to miss out on the Nations League.
“The competitors grants factors for every match and on the finish all of it provides up,” Robinson stated. “In September, we have now one other match and if we get there needing to realize 80 or 100 factors we’re not going to have the ability to do it.”
The USA added Cuba to an inventory of 12 nations with restrictions for coming into the U.S. or its territories, efficient from early June. It contains nationals from Afghanistan, the Republic of Congo, Iran, Venezuela and different nations.
“Denial of visas is a part of a racist and xenophobic record of visa restrictions,” Cuban international minister Bruno Rodriguez wrote on his X account.
In a message despatched to The Related Press, the U.S. Embassy in Cuba said that, in response to its privateness insurance policies, it couldn’t touch upon particular instances however that directives have been being applied to safe the borders and shield U.S. communities and residents.
The Cuban ladies’s nationwide workforce gained back-to-back world championships in 1994 and 1998. It additionally gained three Olympic golds in a row in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.
The U.S. measures are prone to influence many extra Cuban athletes who rely on worldwide competitions, together with some on American soil to qualify for main championships and the following Olympics scheduled to be performed in Los Angeles in 2028.
