5 Cuban athletes defect during Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay
Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Five athletes from Cuba's national youth delegation defected during the Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay, and said they intend to remain in the country.
Paraguayan Interior Minister Enrique Riera confirmed at a national press conference that the case was a defection and that the athletes are adults. He added that, at that time, none had started the formal process of applying for political asylum.
The athletes -- three rowers, a judo specialist and a handball player -- defected in two separate incidents. Four left their delegation during a sightseeing trip and later told Cuban officials they would not return, while the judoka fled Friday when his delegation let its guard down.
The athletes' defection also drew attention on social media, where Cuban communities in Paraguay began organizing to support them. Content creators Harche Vlog and Yanet Jackson Leyet said on TikTok they have been in direct contact with the athletes and have formed support groups as the athletes work to complete refugee paperwork.
Related Junior Pan American Games underway in Paraguay
Harche Vlog, who said he risked his life crossing the Amazon to reach Paraguay, warned of the danger the young athletes would face if deported to Cuba.
He said they would be subjected to government-organized "acts of repudiation" in which citizens are publicly harassed with insults and assaults.
"They throw eggs and stones, they boo and shout 'traitors.' They've done it to thousands of Cubans," he said. He added that the harassment would continue with interrogations by state security about who the athletes spoke with and what they said about conditions on the island.
The episode comes amid a growing Cuban exodus to South America.
In Brazil alone, authorities recorded more than 19,000 Cuban asylum applications by mid-2025, surpassing Venezuelan cases for the first time. The surge is part of a broader migration wave: between 2021 and 2024, more than 850,000 Cubans arrived in the United States, according to Customs and Border Protection, in what is considered the island's largest exodus in recent history.
Analysts attribute the trend to economic hardship, political discontent and the search for greater opportunities abroad. They say cases such as the young athletes in Asunción are the visible sign of migration shaped by economic instability and limited freedoms in Cuba.
The defections came during the same week that Paraguay's National Commission for Stateless Persons and Refugees signed an agreement with the U.S. departments of State and Homeland Security to strengthen cooperation on migration, security, trade and investment.
Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez called the agreement a step that reaffirms the alliance with Washington. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it represents a close partnership to address migration and security issues. Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar said it will help channel legitimate asylum requests.
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