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U.S. Denies Cuban Athletes Visas, Bans Travel From 19 Countries
After the violent attack in Boulder, Colorado, Trump is weaponizing the incident to target noncitizens and villainize them as terrorists
A story you may have missed last week involved the United States denying Cuba’s national basketball team permission to travel to Puerto Rico, where the FIBA AmeriCup qualifiers were held. Cuba was forced to forfeit its first game after most of its players, coaches, and support personnel were denied visas to travel. The team earned a spot in the tournament after qualifying in Nicaragua earlier this year.
The story hit the newswires when the Cuban Olympic Committee (COC) denounced the U.S.’s actions last week in a press release, however, it was scantily reported on. The U.S. Embassy in Cuba also denied visas to the COC president and its Secretary General to attend the Pan American Sports Executive Committee meeting, held in Miami from May 13 to 15, and the Olympic Solidarity Forum for the National Olympic Committees of the Americas, which began days later in San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to the COC.
“The COC warns about the impact of this policy on Cuba’s full participation in an Olympic cycle culminating with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games…
