A Venezuelan junior baseball team was denied visas into the United States and will miss this year’s Senior Baseball World Series, Little League International confirmed on Saturday morning (AEST).<\/p>\n
The Cacique Mara team, from Maracaibo in Venezuela, was scheduled to participate in the tournament after winning the Latin American championship in Mexico.<\/p>\n
“The Cacique Mara Little League team from Venezuela was unfortunately unable to obtain the appropriate visas to travel to the Senior League Baseball World Series,” Little League International said in a statement, adding that it was “extremely disappointing, especially to these young athletes”.<\/p>\n
The Venezuelan team travelled to Colombia two weeks ago to apply for their visas at the US embassy in Bogot\u00e1.<\/p>\n
The embassy did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.<\/p>\n
“It is a mockery on the part of Little League to keep us here in Bogot\u00e1 with the hope that our children can fulfil their dreams of participating in a world championship,” the team said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“What do we do with so much injustice, what do we do with the pain that was caused to our children?”<\/p>\n
Venezuela is among a list of countries with restrictions for entering the US or its territories. President Donald Trump has banned travel to the US from 12 other countries, citing national security concerns.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the month, the Cuban women’s volleyball team was denied visas to participate in a tournament in Puerto Rico<\/a>, while a high-profile Mexican boxer was arrested by ICE and deported<\/a>.<\/p>\n “They told us that Venezuela is on a list because Trump says Venezuelans are a threat to the security of his state, of his country,” said Kendrick Guti\u00e9rrez, the league’s president in Venezuela.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It hasn’t been easy, the situation; we earned the right to represent Latin America in the World Championship.”<\/p>\n The Senior League Baseball World Series, a tournament for players aged 13-16, is played each year in Easley, South Carolina. It begins Saturday night (AEST).<\/p>\n The tournament organisers replaced the Venezuelans with the Santa Maria de Aguayo team from Tamaulipas, Mexico, the team that was a runner-up in the Latin American championship.<\/p>\n “I think this is the first time this has happened, but it shouldn’t end this way. They’re going to replace us with another team because relations have been severed; it’s not fair,” Guti\u00e9rrez added.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I don’t understand why they put Mexico in at the last minute and left Venezuela out.”<\/p>\n