http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...516024&cc=5901
Quote:
Seven members of Cuba U-23 team missing from hotel
ESPNdeportes.com
TAMPA, Fla. -- Five members of the Cuban Under-23 national soccer team left their hotel Tuesday night and and then Wednesday night two more players left the team, raising the possibility they all may be trying to defect.
The initial players were discovered to have left the team hotel hours after earning a 1-1 draw with the United States in the Pre-Olympic tournament.
"Jose Manuel Miranda, Erlys Garcia Baro, Yenier Bermudez, Yordany Alvarez and Loanni Prieto left the hotel", Raul Gonzalez, coach of the Cuban national team, told ESPN reporter Fernando Palomo.
On Wednesday night, Yendry Diaz told ESPN International on the phone that he and Eder Roldan had also left the team.
The missing men had not yet reported to authorities.
Zachary Mann, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, said it's unlikely the agency will learn the men's whereabouts until they come forward. The players likely would be granted political protection under the United States' "wet foot, dry foot" policy that allows Cubans who reach U.S. soil to obtain asylum.
Miranda started at goalkeeper and Bermudez captained the team on Tuesday night, when Cuba was able to hold on for a surprise draw in Group A action.
Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said the agency had not received any missing persons reports from the team, and officers were not called to the team's hotel to investigate the disappearances.
Together with Mexico, the U.S. starts the tournament as a favorite to win one of the two berths for the Beijing games in August.
Freddy Adu scored for the U.S. after 14 minutes, but Roberto Linares equalized shortly before halftime. The Cubans then were able to hold on for a draw despite ending the match with 10 men, as Linares was sent off with a red card in the 82nd minute.
"Cuba has plans to keep playing in this tournament and we don't want to forfeit our next two matches," said Gonzalez.
If the seven players do not return, Cuba would be left with an 11-man squad, but only 10 would be available to play their next match, as Linares is automatically suspended one game for the red card.
Cuba is scheduled to face Honduras on Thursday, at 5.30 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
CONCACAF officials were to meet with the Cuban delegation later on Wednesday to discuss the situation and they could ask Cuba to forfeit the tournament.
Gonzalez also confirmed that there was no security plan in place around the Cuban team to avoid defections. The team was staying at the Doubletree Hotel Tampa Westshore Airport.
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While there are many avenues to go with this story, like why would people leave what must be a workers paradise for the unmitigated failure that is neo-liberalist America, such an avenue of discussion would be unproductive, so there is no point in shaking that bush to see what gets flushed out, we already know.
But this is an issue I am torn on slightly.
Any of us over 30 should remember the spectacular escapes from communist countries. Be it braving the Berlin wall or more spectacular methods like hot air balloons. Whenever the Olympics were held in a free country you would wonder how many could escape their minders in a bid for freedom.
Undoubtedly there are some who would claim this was just neo-liberalist over hyped propaganda, but regardless these were real people making a bid for freedom under fear of imprisonment or worse.
I never questioned the automatic asylum they were given once they escaped what can only be classified as the most horrific and oppressive regimes the human race has ever endured.
But that was then, it was the cold war, where the world was just a tick away from a human caused Armageddon on the doomsday clock.
This is now.
Is it hypocritical that we would automatically accept the Cuban soccer team as political refugees, assuming of course they are defecting and not just lost, while sending back a Mexican seeking the same thing, a better life?
For now, I'd have to say it is a bit hypocritical, but still acceptable. While Europe has been freed from totalitarian socialism there are still a few hold outs and I can't imagine forcing people who risked it all to go back to such an system.
On the other hand, we have China, and while China is far better than it once was with mass starvation of millions and utter poverty, its still shall we say, 'not strong' on human rights. Still its far harder to get asylum from China then Cuba, where you only have to show up. Undoubtedly the political pressure from the Cuban ex-patriots is part of it, but perhaps it is here where we are most hypocritical.
But finally we have the issue of using the US as a dumping ground for undesirables. We saw this with Cuba sending over their criminals. If we have a blanket system it means we accept them into our country, and while it makes for good cinema for my little friend, a good movie isn't worth the price.
Perhaps its time we look into the Cuban asylum policy. Its almost 50 years since the revolution, the idea of close relatives still left behind must be mostly past, and while I can highly sympathize with those wanting to escape such a government, a lot of people would like to immigrate here for a better life.