You have to wonder if Cuba’s socialist revolution is so glorious and wonderful, why is the communist Castro dictatorship going to such great pains to prevent their players from escaping to capitalism?
Via Periodico Cubano (my translation):
Cellphones taken away from Cuban baseball players: The Cuban regime’s response to avoid more defections in Florida
Cuban baseball players in Florida competing in the Pre-Olympic Baseball Tournament cannot use their cellphones whenever they want. Furthermore, vigilance on them has been increased for fear of another defection such as that of Cesar Prieto, the second baseman who defected moments after getting off the bus from the airport.
According to reports from Cuban journalist Francys Romero, the order for the drastic measures came from high-ranking sports officials in Havana in an effort to limit the possibilities of baseball players communicating with anyone in the U.S. and planning a defection.
“They’re only given their cellphones in the afternoon for a limited time so they can call family members,” said Romero, who stands out among sports journalists for his big exclusive reports on the world of baseball.
During a broadcast of the Ahora program on MegaTV hosted by journalist Oscar Haza, Romero said that there is a great fear that more defections can jeopardize the team’s success in the tournament, which only grants the first place winner a spot in the Tokyo Olympic Games while second and third place must go on to playoffs.
Continue reading (in Spanish) HERE.
Of course. Because the Cuban government should really be focused on a spot in Tokyo right now.