Venezuelan Youth Baseball Team, Denied Visas, Is Left Out of Tournament in U.S.
But when the championship round begins in Easley, S.C., on Saturday, the undefeated squad from Venezuela will not be there. The team, Cacique Mara, has been denied the visas necessary to attend, Little League Baseball International said Friday.
A team from Mexico will take its place.
The Senior League World Series invites 12 teams of players ages 13 to 16 — older than those in the higher-profile Little League World Series, which is for ages 10 to 12 and is a staple of ESPN's daytime summer programming.
Cacique Mara said it learned a week ago that the visas had been denied. Its players, raised in one of the world's most unstable countries, are demoralized, the team's president said.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening, but it appeared that Cacique Mara had been swept up in the severe travel restrictions that President Trump has placed on more than a dozen countries. The administration allows exceptions for athletes and coaches traveling for major athletic competitions such as the World Cup and the Olympics.
Cacique Mara said on social media that players and coaches from the team sat for interviews on July 14 to try to secure visas, but were denied by an immigration officer.
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