Venezuela will not be allowed to compete at the Senior Little League World Series after their visas were denied by the United States. It will instead be replaced by Mexico.
This decision is currently under review but there is not enough time so it does not matter.
The Cacique Mara Little League baseball program is based out of Maracaibo, Venezuela. Its senior league team qualified for the World Series with an undefeated 5-0 record at the Latin America regional championships. None of the five games were particularly close, either.
The Little League Senior Baseball World Series is different from the well-known tournament in Williamsport, Pa. It features players aged 13-16 on a bigger field.
Venezuela earned the right to play.
By winning the regional championship, Cacique Mara was set to compete at the Senior League World Series in Easley, South Carolina over the next few weeks. Competition got underway on Saturday.
However, the entire team was denied entry into the United States and thus unable to participate. They even traveled to Bogota two weeks before the tournament to apply for U.S. visas. They were still denied.
“It is a mockery on the part of Little League to keep us here in Bogotá with the hope that our children can fulfill their dreams of participating in a world championship,” said Cacique Mara in a statement to the AP. “What do we do with so much injustice, what do we do with the pain that was caused to our children?”
Maracaibo is located on the northwesternmost point of the capital state of Venezuela, Zulia. Bogota, Columbia is located approximately 627 miles south. Their hope was to avoid the ongoing crackdown on immigration and foreign visitors by the Trump administration by traveling outside of their home country. That did not happen.
The Little League World Series is forced to move on.
Venezuela is listed by the Trump administration alongside six other nations as subject to partial travel restrictions. The list was published on June 4.
“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 Venezuelan league president Kendrick Gutierrez. “It hasn’t been easy the situation; we earned the right to represent Latin America in the World Championship.”
Tournament officials decided to instead replace Venezuela with Mexico, the Latin American runner-up.
“I think this is the first time this has happened, but it shouldn’t end this way,” added Gutierrez. “They’re going to replace us with another team because relations have been severed; it’s not fair. I don’t understand why they put Mexico in at the last minute and left Venezuela out.”
Santa Maria de Aguayo from Tamulipas, Mexico will represent Latin America at the Little League Senior Baseball World Series even though it lost to Cacique Mara. The administrative “review” won’t matter.