The authorities of the baseball in Cuba They rejected the island’s exclusion from the nearby Caribbean Series, after its change of venue, a decision they considered “disrespectful.”
“Although the invitation received was generated from Venezuela, in its capacity as the original host of this edition, it was endorsed by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (CBPC), governing body of the tournament, of which our country is the founder,” said the Cuban Federation in a statement.
“It is added that this entity has not maintained any communication with the Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation about such an important decision, which destroys the established commitments and the design approved by our country to assume them,” added the baseball entity.
#Cuba rejects his exclusion from the Caribbean Series #Baseball
His baseball and softball federation called the decision unfair, and criticized the conduct of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. #CubanBaseball https://t.co/VX3GL8wVDD pic.twitter.com/NtFLY5qNEc— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) December 21, 2025
The statement by the Cuban Federation responds to the CBPC’s decision to keep only Panama as a guest country for the 2026 Caribbean Series, after it was officially announced that the tournament would no longer be organized by Venezuela, but by Mexico.
This change sought to save the organization of the contest, after the leagues of Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic expressed their refusal to compete in Venezuelan territory, in the midst of the current tension between Caracas and Washington, and the military deployment of the United States in the Caribbean.
However, for the Cuban authorities “the change of scenario does not justify the non-participation of Cuba, which, furthermore, deserves and demands respectful treatment, especially in the case of such a sensitive situation for our sport.”
Guadalajara without Cuba and without Venezuela?
Initially scheduled for Caracas, the 2026 Caribbean Series will finally be played in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, between February 1 and 7.
Cuba, which had been invited by Venezuela, was left out of the new format of the tournament, which reduced the participating teams from eight to five.
In addition to the island, the teams that would represent Colombia and Japan, invited by the initial organizers, as well as the largest of the Antilles, were not included.
Only the representative of Panama was saved from that purge, for which the CBPC did maintain the quota.
The Caribbean Series goes to Guadalajara, without Cuba and waiting for Venezuela
The other four teams would in principle be the champions of the professional leagues of Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, the four countries that officially make up the Caribbean Confederation.
However, after losing its headquarters, the Venezuelan League has not confirmed its presence in Guadalajara, which many understand as a very possible refusal to attend, although the new headquarters has stressed the “absolute priority” of the South American squad.
In the event that Venezuela finally declines its participation, its quota would not be covered by another country, but rather a second team from Mexico would be included, according to what has already been reported.
