In a display of self-pity that goes from the Foreign Ministry to television propaganda programs, the regime has attributed the defeat of the Cuban team in the World Baseball Classic to “offending” groups that distracted the team in Miami. In addition, through a statement reproduced this Wednesday in all the official media, the authorities take stock of the “unfortunate and dangerous incidents” that made the so-called nervous Team Asere at Loan Depot Park.
With the usual “strong denunciation”, the Cuban Foreign Ministry hastened to explain the loss of the “difficult game” between Cuba and the United States, whose team, it regrets, has a recognized “technical superiority” against which the Island had little to do. That explains, according to the text, the ease with which it was “clearly a winner.”
After suggesting that the Cubans had no chance of winning, the statement criticized the “vile and organized aggressiveness” of the island’s fans exiled in Miami, who managed to “destabilize” the event and “lower the spirits of the athletes.”
The organizers of the Classic – which prohibit any political demonstration – claimed to have rights to the LoanDepot Park stadium, home of the Florida Marlins
The blame, of course, falls on the US sports authorities who, despite the requests of the Cuban Baseball Federation, did not handle the situation severely. The fact that there was a contact between Miami and Havana to prevent “incidents” was denounced this Tuesday by Jose Antonio Alvarezannouncer for Univision Radio in Miami.
According to Álvarez, who cites an interview with Manolo Reyes, commissioner of the city of Miami, there was “a meeting prior” to the game where the Cuban Baseball Federation demanded that there be no “shirts and banners” offensive to the regime in the stadium. and that “music by Willy Chirino and Celia Cruz not be played in the stadium.” In that meeting, Reyes refused to give in, the announcer said.
However, the organizers of the Classic – which prohibit any political demonstration during the games – claimed to have rights to the LoanDepot Park stadium, home of the Florida Marlins, but agreed to allow fans to enter with messages alluding to Cuba’s freedom on their clothing. and on the posters noted magazine Full Swing.
The messages against the regime in Havana – which Cuban Television could not hide in its broadcast of the match – exhausted the patience of the authorities, who accuse “certain representatives” and local Florida politicians of “complicity” with the protesters.
They add, on the other hand, that “the city of Miami does not meet the minimum conditions to host an international event”
As for the Cuban exiles who came down to the ground carrying flags, among them the writer Carlos Manuel Álvarez and the artist El Sexto, the Foreign Ministry accuses them of threatening the security of the Team Asere. “All these actions were sufficient causes for immediate expulsion, summons, arrest or other legal consequences, which on this occasion did not occur,” they point out, despite the fact that those who entered the land were detained until the next day by the local Police.
“The Government of Cuba alerted the Government of the United States in sufficient time, through diplomatic channels, about the public and open threats that were conceived to tarnish the participation of the Cuban team in the segment of the championship that would take place in the city of Miami and about the corrupt and irresponsible trajectory of the authorities of that city,” the statement added.
They failed, they settle, for a clear cause: “Team Cuba did not participate in the event under equal conditions.” But the matter does not end there. The Foreign Ministry traces this chain of “discrimination” to the delay of the United States in authorizing Cuban Major League players to join a team organized by the Havana regime.
They add, on the other hand, that “the city of Miami does not meet the minimum conditions to host an international event and that its authorities have a fundamental responsibility in this despicable reality.”
Meanwhile, the Government welcomed the baseball players residing on the Island in style, who found consolation against the defeat not so much in the streets of Havana as in the Florida supermarkets. where did they go shopping.
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