In response to growing concern about US entry requirements ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the Cuban Olympic Committee (COC) claimed on Tuesday that Washington had refused to issue visas to officials and athletes.
Due to the COC’s lack of travel authorization, the organization announced that its president, vice-president, and secretary general were barred from this month’s regional Olympic committee meetings in Miami and Puerto Rico.
The national men’s basketball team missed the FIBA AmeriCup in Puerto Rico in February, all because they didn’t have visas, and 14 Cubans were unable to compete in an athletics championship in Florida in March, it added.
The COC attributed Washington’s “aggressive policy” toward Cuba to an “arbitrary and politically motivated handling of visa applications.”
Under President Donald Trump, relations between Washington and communist Cuba have deteriorated further, with the US having been a trade embargo for more than 60 years.
The committee called for “respect for the obligations and fundamental principles of olympism” and demanded “discriminatory practices that go against the spirit of sport” in a statement.
Trump has increased pressure on the Caribbean island, putting it back on the US list of “terrorism” sponsors, since making his return to the White House in January.
His administration has also taken steps to increase the number of undocumented immigrants, including those who are from Cuba, and has denied visas to people who allegedly harbor anti-Semitism or have “hostile attitudes” toward the United States.
The US, Mexico, and Canada hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are not affected by tightened immigration policies, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week.
We want the event to succeed. According to reports of a decline in tourism to the United States since Trump’s second term began, Rubio said. “It’s a priority for the president.”
Source: Channels TV
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