By Duane Stilwell

PHOENIX, Arizona — As baseball fans around the world geared up for the Sixth World Baseball Classic, eight members of the Cuban team, along with their pitching coach and other support personnel, were denied visas to come to the United States. As a result, just 11 players were left to face a roster of 37 from the Kansas City Royals on March 3, 2026, and 33 from the Cincinnati Reds the following day.

The visa denials were a blow not just to the Cuban team, which was forced to play at a considerable competitive disadvantage; this was a blow to baseball fans across the board.  And it ran counter to the goodwill of Major League Baseball and the organizers of the Classic, which draws together talent from around the globe.

The basis for the visa denial was simple; under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, Washington can deny visas to individuals from countries that it holds under sanctions. On January 29, the White House issued an executive order calling Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” This designation was the basis used by the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump to blockade ships carrying oil to Cuba and threaten to impose tariffs on any country daring to sell oil to the Caribbean nation.

Since Cuba has not threatened the United States militarily or economically — in fact, the roles are completely reversed, the only reason these athletes could be considered a threat is because of their renowned excellence. Hailing from an island nation of about 11 million people, Cuban Olympians win a disproportionate number of medals — more, in fact, than any Latin American country except Brazil. Cuba also bests most countries in the European Union. The only possible threat these athletes represent is that they are capable of beating U.S. teams on the playing field — and, most importantly, their presence could create cracks in the malicious and unfounded propaganda against their country from the administration of Donald Trump.

Although their team was heading to Phoenix with a severe disadvantage, the Cuban National Institute of Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation said, “For almost seventy years of fighting U.S. aggression, sports have been one of the sectors most impacted by the policy of siege against Cuba, and we reiterate our strongest rejection of [the visa denials]. The U.S. authorities know that baseball is an intrinsic part of the history and pride of the Cuban people; but under any circumstances, the people of Cuba and their athletes will continue to win.”

The baseball players are not the only targets of the visa denial policies of the Trump administration. The U.S. state department has already denied visas to over 100 Cuban athletes in a number of sports, in effect denying dozens the right to participate in pre-qualifying games for the 2028 Olympics. This strips them of the right to compete outright in 2028 or places them and their teams at a severe disadvantage.

The Los Angeles Hands Off Cuba Committee (LAHOC), together with 5 affiliated Cuba solidarity committees in other cities, has been spearheading a campaign to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee to demand that all athletes be allowed to compete. The Trump administration’s policy is a direct violation of the IOC charter and is especially egregious as Washington prepares to host the games.

The LAHOC Let Cuba Play campaign has also appealed to solidarity committees in other countries to apply pressure to their country’s Olympic committees on behalf of the Cuban athletes.

A small group of activists from Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, alongside representatives of LAHOC, took their campaign to fans at the beginning and end of the exhibition games. Holding a large banner and handing out about 1,500 flyers to those attending, they received an overwhelmingly positive response.

Attendees included Cuban Americans, a minority of whom were there to heckle the Cuban team, but most came because they love baseball and their home country, whether or not they agree with its social system. Among the other fans from the United States, most learning about the visa denials for the first time, many were outraged at the lack of sportsmanship displayed by their country’s leaders.

“While Cuba did not win on the field (2-19) [against the Cincinnati Reds], we did win new support for the Let Cuba Play campaign to obtain U.S. visas for Cuba’s Olympic athletes,” the solidarity activists said.

In Cuba, fans have been following their team’s progress during the games. The Cuban daily Granma highlighted the work being done by solidarity activists in the United States to demand an end to the U.S. blockade and promote free travel between the two countries.

World-Outlook is publishing below for the information of our readers the statement by Cuba’s National Institute of Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation and an excerpt from an article about LAHOC’s presence at the Phoenix games. Both appeared first in the Cuban daily Granma. We also publish at the end an article on a related March 2 Cuba solidarity meeting in Los Angeles that first appeared in Trabajadores, the weekly newspaper of the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC).

The headlines, subheads, photos, and text that follow are from the originals. The translation of the statement is by Granma; the translation of the article on the Phoenix games is by World-Outlook. The translation of the article on the solidarity meeting in Los Angeles is by Resumen Latinoamericano and the Global South.

*

Discriminatory treatment by the U.S. against the Cuban baseball team is part of its aggression against Cuba

March 2, 2026, 12:03:40

The denial of visas by the United States government to eight members of the Cuban delegation who were to attend the 6th World Baseball Classic constitutes the latest act of aggression against our people and their national sport.

By INDER | internet@granma.cu

The denial of visas by the United States government to eight members of the Cuban delegation who were to attend the 6th World Baseball Classic constitutes the latest act of aggression against our people and their national sport. The decision is intended to intentionally obstruct and harm the participation and performance of the Cuban team in this renowned baseball competition.

In its eagerness to hinder the development of sports in Cuba, the United States has not been satisfied with denying visas to Cuban athletes and federation officials for events in that country since January 2025. Now, it has taken a decidedly political action by denying the Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation the right to field a team under the same conditions as the other participating nations.

Despite the goodwill and efforts of Major League Baseball and the organizers of the Classic to ensure Cuba’s participation, it is clear that, from the outset, the U.S. government has aimed to create difficulties and obstruct our team. In fact, this visa denial is also an action intended to provoke a potential decision by our Federation not to attend the event under these conditions.

Managing a competitive team requires, in addition to the contributions of athletes and coaches, the complementary work of executives and other specialists who, in this case, operate within areas defined by the organizers themselves.

To cripple the team through visa denials, abusing the privilege granted by hosting this tournament, constitutes a discriminatory act that expresses contempt and places Cuba at a disadvantage in terms of its team’s performance. The national team would be deprived of key figures responsible for tasks that contribute to athletic performance, including a pitching coach, thus limiting the possibilities that should be determined on the field, under equal conditions, and not subject to the political decisions of a government.

For almost seventy years of fighting U.S. aggression, sports have been one of the sectors most impacted by the policy of siege against Cuba, and we reiterate our strongest rejection of this decision. The U.S. authorities know that baseball is an intrinsic part of the history and pride of the Cuban people; But under any circumstances, the people of Cuba and their athletes will continue to win.

Sixty years ago, Cuban sports played a leading role in the historic epic of Cerro Pelado, when the same government that attacks us today tried to prevent Cuba from participating in the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Back then, our athletes trained on the ship, under the watchful eyes of U.S. military aircraft, but we reached Puerto Rico and triumphed.

Today, we will return to the island of Puerto Rico and the other venues of the 6th World Baseball Classic, with our Cultural Heritage, which is baseball; and as we did six decades ago, with the same spirit, the same dignity, and the same unwavering resolve.

Havana, March 1, 2026

National Institute of Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation

*

Stepping Up for Cuba

The Hands Off Cuba solidarity committee is engaging in numerous activities to support the largest island of the Antilles.

March 5, 2026, 12:03:11

By Granma International staff 

“While Cuba did not win on the field (Cuba 2; Cincinnati Reds 19), we did win new support for the Let Cuba Play campaign to obtain U.S. visas for Cuba’s Olympic athletes,” according to the Hands Off Cuba committee after a delegation attended a March 4 exhibition game in Phoenix as part of the World Baseball Classic on, where Cuba went up against the Cincinnati Reds.

“Our education and distribution team was reinforced with sympathizers from Tucson, allowing us to give out hundreds of fliers to the public, most of whom expressed solidarity, including many Cubans,” the committee said.

From that event emerged new alliances in favor of Cuba, given that Tucson activists are also participating in the Let Cuba Play campaign, while a new Hands Off Cuba committee is forming in Phoenix….

[The rest of the Granma article reported on a March 2 Cuba solidarity meeting in Los Angeles, which is described in greater detail in the Trabajadores article that follows.]

*

Los Angeles Against the Blockade

From Trabajadores, translation by Resumen

March 2, 2026

By Yimel Diaz Malmierca

Solidarity with Cuba was once again expressed in the city of Los Angeles during a meeting convened by the Hands Off Cuba Committee, a coordinating body based on the US West Coast that denounces the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by Washington against the island. Under the slogan “Cuba Yes, Blockade No!”, around a hundred activists, trade unionists, academics, and representatives of social organizations reiterated their support for the Cuban people.

The meeting was co-chaired by Destiny Rivera, leader of the Hands Off Cuba Committee in Los Angeles, and Mwezi Odom, national secretary of the African People’s Socialist Party. From the outset, attendees chanted slogans against the economic blockade and in defense of Cuban sovereignty.

One of the highlights was a video message from Kevin Kucera, district president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, who framed the debate in terms of class struggle and labor rights: “We must and will continue to defend Cuba’s sovereignty and its right to self-determination,” he said.

For the union leader, the attack on the island “is an attack on the rights of workers around the world,” while calling for continued mobilization in the streets and in digital spaces.

Kucera insisted that the labor movement cannot remain indifferent to measures that directly affect a people and set precedents for the imposition of unilateral sanctions against any nation that defends a sovereign project. In this regard, he stressed that his union and sectors of the AFL-CIO have expressed solidarity with the Cuban people, upholding the principle of self-determination in the face of economic pressure.

The union dimension of the meeting was echoed by other messages of support. Jazz pianist Arturo O’Farrill expressed his support for Cuban sovereignty and recalled that, year after year, the United Nations General Assembly approves, by an overwhelming majority, a resolution calling for an end to the blockade.

Representing CodePink was its co-founder, Jody Evans, who linked the Cuban cause with other struggles against U.S. interference and called for participation in new initiatives to send humanitarian aid.

From Washington, David Ramírez, an official at the Cuban Embassy in the United States, expressed his gratitude for the support and denounced the intensification of economic and political pressure.

During the exchange, the difficulties associated with fuel supply and its impact on essential services such as water pumping, agricultural production, and transportation were addressed. Reference was also made to the denial of visas to Cuban athletes for events held on U.S. territory, including the World Baseball Classic, as well as pressure campaigns against Cuban medical cooperation in third countries and against the Latin American School of Medicine.

Representatives of the National Lawyers Guild and the Venceremos Brigade also spoke, promoting delegations to travel to Cuba, campaigns to collect medical supplies, and shipments coordinated by members of the National Network on Cuba.

The meeting in Los Angeles confirmed the persistence of a solidarity movement that finds explicit support in trade union sectors.

For the newspaper Trabajadores, Kevin Kucera’s statement is particularly significant, because when a U.S. labor leader argues that the defense of Cuba is inseparable from the defense of labor rights on a global scale, it reaffirms that the cause against the blockade transcends borders and connects with the historical agenda of the labor movement.

If you appreciate this article, subscribe to World-Outlook (for free) by clicking on the link below.

Type your email in the box below and click on “SUBSCRIBE.” You will receive a notification in your in-box on which you will have to click to confirm your subscription.