O 10 Cuban athletes O They took refuge in Chile They appeared on the train this Friday at a municipal gymnasium in the Chilean capital. Their wishes were received from the Chilean government and they were granted an eight-month visa until their case was resolved.
Of these ten athletes, seven participated in the 2023 edition of the Pan American Games.
The 12 Cuban athletes are represented by the same law firm, Hurtado and Bonito, and are two groups that decided at different times not to return to the island, but they do have a connection.
The youngest who left the sports village alone after its closure on the last Sunday of the year Pan American Games that take place in the capital of the south of the country, six players of the hockey team: Yunia Milanés, Jennifer Martínez, Yakira Guillén, Lismary González , Helec Carta and Geidy Morales and the bronze medalist in the 400 meters hurdles Yoao Illas.
A preconceived plan months ago
Yunia Milanés, 28 years old and captain of the ice hockey team, followed in the footsteps of her friend Lázaro Toulon, who had been in Chile for five months separately from a Cuban delegation. Men’s hockey players Yordankys Méndez and Yurisan Socarrás stayed with Tolón.
Lázaro Tolón, grateful for his presence at Pimenta, stated to the media:
It’s a super complex decision. I can say the main reason we made this decision is that we feel free in every way.
The player acknowledged that they supported their colleagues who decided not to return to the island after the Pan American Games.
Lawyer Mijail Bonito reports that the athletes have all been granted temporary visas, which allows them to work even while the asylum application procedure is underway. “The institutional structure worked accordingly,” he said.
Five athletes from the group live in a house and the other five in a hotel. Everyone is waiting for the opportunities they have been looking for.
We hope that the expressions of solidarity they have received will be converted into concrete offers, so that they can once again expand their sporting activities and make their contribution to this country.
Danger of political instrumentalization
Lismar Gonzalez, one of the ice hockey players who is 23 years old, summarizes the reasons that led her not to return home and, like the others, to stop seeing her family for an indefinite period of time.
I made this decision because in Chile individuality is respected and there is a lot of development in sports life, you can develop even more. Doors may open for me in my personal and professional life. We would like to settle in a club and have the doors open to do what we want and complete our physical culture studies.
This Friday they received an invitation from the conservative mayor Cristóvão Lirada of the Lo Barnecheum community of the sectors with the highest economic level in the Chilean capital. Although he is accused of politicizing the matter, he guarantees that it is only a matter of its integration.Promote sport in this privileged area.
We can easily welcome them here and organize sports workshops once they solve their immigration problem. I am sure that the young people of Lo Barnechea will have a great enthusiasm for the sport.
This morning we had a reception at the municipal school #LoBarnecea to the Cuban athletes who took refuge in Chile to carry out their first training sessions in our country. This invitation comes from the empathy of knowing your story and offering our help. pic.twitter.com/jPKoz0CLuG
— Cristóbal Lira (@CristobalLira) November 10, 2023
The price may be higher
The breakout of Cuban athletes when they go on international tours is nothing new. “It is a fashionable topic in Cuban sports,” Tolon admitted. According to unofficial figures, more than a hundred athletes from the island have done what they have been doing since last year.
Reports from various local and international media indicate that the number of Cuban athletes staying in the country has increased. Pimenta It would be bigger, but it couldn’t be made official.
This group would consist of a rower who left his team after a qualifying race for the Pan American Games that ended on April 19, and a basketball player who traveled with the delegation and did not participate in Santiago 2023.
(With information from EFE)
Source: La Neta Neta
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
