Cuban Olympic body says denied US visas
H AVANA: The Cuban Olympic Committee (COC) on Tuesday accused Washington of refusing visas to officials and athletes, amid growing concern over US entry requirements ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The COC said its president, vice-president and secretary general were excluded from regional Olympic committee meetings in Miami and Puerto Rico this month after being denied travel documents.
Fourteen Cubans were unable to participate in an athletics championship in Florida in March, it added, and the national men's basketball team missed the FIBA AmeriCup in Puerto Rico in February -- all because they didn't get visas.
The COC blamed an 'arbitrary and politically-motivated handling of visa' applications resulting from Washington's 'aggressive policy' towards Cuba.
Relations between Washington and communist Cuba, which has been under a US trade embargo for over six decades, have soured further under President Donald Trump.
In a statement, the committee rejected 'discriminatory practices that go against the spirit of sports' and demanded 'respect for the obligations and fundamental principles of Olympism.'
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has ramped up pressure on the Caribbean island, placing it back on a US list of 'terrorism' sponsors.
His administration has also taken steps to increase deportations of undocumented migrants, including from Cuba, and has stripped people of visas for alleged anti-Semitism or for having 'hostile attitudes' towards the United States.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that the tightened immigration policies would not affect next year's FIFA World Cup, being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
'We want it to be a success. It's a priority for the president,' Rubio said, amid reports of a fall in tourism to the United States since the start of Trump's second mandate.
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