MIAMI, United States. — The Cuban regime denounced on Wednesday the protests and political messages that appeared at LoanDepot Park during the first semifinal of the World Baseball Classic between the teams of Cuba and the United States.
A statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) described the demonstrations against the dictatorship as “acts of hostility against the Cuba team incited by the Miami authorities.”
“Unfortunate and dangerous incidents occurred against the Cuban team that participated in the tournament, which Cuba strongly denounces,” the text states, referring to the protests by Cuban exiles.
“With the clear purpose of destabilizing our players, repeated acts of various kinds were carried out against them, against the delegation that accompanied them, and against the supporters of the Cuban squad in the stadium. These included direct attacks, threats, the use of offensive and vulgar language, attacks injurious to the morale of the Cuban team and other incidents aimed at undermining the morale of the athletes and harming the show,” said the statement, which was released by the state propaganda apparatus.
“The rules of order and conduct established by the stadium were not enforced, in which there was apparent complicity of certain representatives and personnel of that sports facility and local authorities, in particular those in charge of order and security,” he adds. the note.
According to MINREX, “objects were thrown at the players and their relatives, among whom were women, children and the elderly, as well as at members of the delegation and representatives of the Cuban press, and also at spectators who supported the Cuban team.” ”.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry also made reference to the three Cubans who took to the pitch in protest against the dictatorship and in favor of the political prisoners, whom it described as “supposed spectators.”
“They entered the field three times during the game and interrupted the game, which endangered the safety and stability of the players of the Cuban team. Repeated insults and threats were made to athletes, loudly, when it was their turn to bat or when they were preparing to enter the game, as happened to Cuban pitcher Frank Abel Álvarez while warming up in the bullpen, which violates the rules of Major League Baseball (MLB) and any notion of fair sport.”
The MINREX statement also condemned the posters and banners that appeared during the match with messages of “Freedom for political prisoners”, “Down with the dictatorship” and “Díaz-Canel singao”.
“Posters with political slogans, obscene and vulgar language, disrespectful towards athletes and the general public, which interfered with the enjoyment of the game, were constantly displayed. In the same way, clothing with offensive phrases and images of political content was used, not allowed by the rules of the sports facility.
The MINREX also maintained that “the Code of Conduct for Guests established for the stadium was repeatedly violated, starting from the irresponsible consumption of alcoholic beverages and the violation of the assigned seats.”
The state body assured that all these situations conditioned the performance of Team Asere, overwhelmed by the United States with a score of 14 races for two.
