Just hours after the Cuban national volleyball team arrived in Quebec for the 2024 NORCECA Men’s Final Six tournament, one of the team’s star player defected from the communist Castro dictatorship. Yumichael Lawrence, the team’s only player in the position of libero, took advantage of being in a free country and fled for freedom.
The Cuban volleyball team’s libero, Yumichael Lawrence, left the team this week in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, where the 2024 NORCECA Men’s Final Six Tournament is being held. The incident occurred hours after the Cuban delegation arrived in the country, just before their debut against Mexico.
The news was announced through social media by journalist Leonardo Ruiz. Lawrence, a 22-year-old native of Pinar del Río, was a key player for the team as he was the only libero listed on the roster.
So far, Cuban state media, which has been reporting on the tournament, has not made any statement regarding Yumichael Lawrence.
The young volleyball player had recently stood out in international tournaments, including the Under-23 Pan American Cup, where he was awarded as the best libero and defender, and in the Cuban National League, where he was recognized as the best libero in the 2022-2023 season.
While Americans this election year contemplate voting for candidates who promise socialist policies, Cubans continue voting with their feet and escaping the slavery, poverty, misery, and oppression of socialism.