Cubans lament Trump’s decision to dump baseball deal with Havana

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The Trump administration decision on Monday to scrap a historic agreement between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Cuban Baseball Federation has shocked Cubans who fear the move will result in a loss of future talent.

The agreement would have allowed Cuban players to sign with U.S. teams without needing to defect. It also allowed the Cuban government to claim a fee from MLB teams that draft Cuban players.

A senior US official said on Monday that “the existing deal will not be allowed to go forward because it was based on an erroneous ruling by the former Obama administration that the Cuban Baseball Federation was not part of Cuba's Communist government.”

“I think it was an opportunity to continue to see talent in the MLB," said former baseballer Carlos Tabares. "With this breaking of the agreement, it sets us back like in other areas because of the blockade. I think there's a lot of talent in Cuba that will never be because of this breaking of the accord.”

The move has overturned an agreement that was inked between MLB and the Cuban federation in December after three long years of negotiations and it would have essentially opened a safe, legal path for Cuban players to play professionally in the United States.

(L-R) Sasha Obama, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro attend an exhibition game between the Cuban national baseball team and Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the Estado Latinoamericano on March 22, 2016 in Havana, Cuba. /VCG Photo

Tony, a Cuban baseball fan, said, “It's dashed many hopes for those guys who aspire and want to play for money, to be economically free. Donald Trump has cut off this path.”

In the past, many Cuban stars undertook risky escapes, including being smuggled off the island in speedboats.

The U.S. decision came as the latest move by President Donald Trump to withdraw the rapprochement with the communist-ruled country that was America's old Cold War foe. The reconciliatory approach was undertaken by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump's stepping up of pressure on Cuba came recently following Havana's support for embattled Venezuela's socialist president, Nicolas Maduro.

Cuban MLB player Alexei Ramirez (L) and former Cuban President Fidel Castro's son, Antonio Castro, talk at the Latin American Stadium in Havana, on December 16, 2015. /VCG Photo

The decision to break the sports accord came just days after the Cuban federation released its first list of 34 players authorized to sign contracts directly with major league teams.

According to the Trump administration, the Cuban Baseball Federation is a part of the island's National Sports Institute, which, according to the U.S. official, is a government entity that U.S. law says makes such business dealings illegal.

However, Cuba has been maintaining its stand that its baseball federation is not part of the state and has stated that the federation falls under the Cuban Olympic Committee, which in turn reports to the International Olympic Committee, not the Cuban government.

(With agency input)