Venezuelan youth baseball team denied travel visas to U.S. for tournament
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Venezuelan youth baseball team denied travel visas to U.S. for tournament
The team, Cacique Mara, reached the championship round of the tournament after winning the Latin America qualifiers in Mexico last month. The State Department said in a statement to The Athletic that it is reviewing the decision to deny entry to the team. The Senior League World Series is a tournament for players ages 13-16 organized by Little League International. It is held annually in Easley, S.C., for teams from six U.S. regions and six international regions.“The players are demoralized. All they know how to do is play baseball. They don’t represent any threat; they are 15-year-old kids who want to win the World Cup,” the team’s president said.
The team, Cacique Mara, reached the championship round of the tournament after winning the Latin America qualifiers in Mexico last month and was scheduled to play Saturday in South Carolina. Instead, the Santa Maria de Aguayo Little League team from Victoria, Mexico, and second-place finisher in the Latin America qualifiers took Cacique Mara’s place.
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The Senior League World Series is a tournament for players ages 13-16 organized by Little League International. It is held annually in Easley, S.C., for teams from six U.S. regions and six international regions. The Senior League World Series is for players older than the 10-12-year-olds who participate in the Little League World Series, a more high-profile tournament held in South Williamsport, Pa.
Cacique Mara said in a social media post that its players and coaches attended interviews on July 14 for obtaining visas and were denied by a U.S. immigration officer. When Little League International tried to arrange emergency visas for the team, the organization’s request was denied, the team said.
The State Department said in a statement to The Athletic that it is reviewing the decision to deny entry to Cacique Mara.
“The players are demoralized. All they know how to do is play baseball. They want to go compete and leave the name of Venezuela and Latin America high. They don’t represent any threat; they are 15-year-old kids who want to win the World Cup,” Kendry Gutiérrez, president of the Cacique Mara Little League, said in a release.
Cacique Mara’s visa denial follows President Donald Trump’s signing a proclamation in June to ban citizens of 12 countries from entering the U.S. and to partially restrict entry for citizens of seven other countries, including Venezuela, citing national security concerns.
At the time, the State Department said Trump’s executive order contains exemptions for nationals who would enter the U.S. as athletes for major sporting events, as well as support staff and immediate relatives of athletes. However, there are no such assurances for fans, raising many questions ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
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Cacique Mara isn’t the first sports team denied entry for a tournament after Trump’s ban. Earlier this month, the Cuban women’s national volleyball team had its visa requests denied for the NORCECA Women’s Final Four tournament in Puerto Rico, a tournament that awards ranking points toward qualification for the Volleyball Nations League. By missing the tournament in Puerto Rico, the Cuban women’s national volleyball team will likely not make the Nations League.
Cuba is among the seven countries with restricted entry into the U.S.
(Photo: Peter Aiken / Imagn Images)
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6517274/2025/07/26/venezuela-youth-baseball-team-visas/