The United States has banned the Cuban baseball team from the World Baseball Classic next march.
A Treasury spokeswoman said: “The Cuba embargo prohibits deals in which Cuba or Cuban nationals have an interest.” The decision is seen as a blow to advocates of easing the embargo, who saw the tournament as an opportunity to foster contacts between Americans and Cubans.
I haven’t thought this through very much, so I’m not sure where I’d stand on this issue. My first thought was about how awful that is, and my second thought was how it made sense. I’m not sure which the correct one is. Obviously, the law states that it can not happen and until the law changes this is the correct course of action, but at the same time I would like to see a truer contest against other nations. Cuba was supposed to play its games in Puerto Rico; I wonder if there would still be a problem should another country host the games.
Keeping Cuba out of the baseball classic is like keeping Brazil out of the World Cup. Not that I think we should go soft on the embargo, but playing the games in a neutral country (say Mexico or Venezuela) would be in the sporting interests of the world.
Here’s a question that should be asked on balance that I haven’t seen addressed elsewhere -- have we allowed the Cubans to come to the Olympics when they’ve been in the US? Atlanta ’96 or SLC (don’t know if they do any winter sports…)
Yes, we have. Cuba won 9 golds, 9 silvers, and 23 bronzes in Atlanta. (source)