Havana, Cuba — Cuban baseball talent Cesar Prieto abandoned his team several hours after arriving in the United States for an Olympic qualifier, sports officials in Havana said, in the latest defection to hit the communist island.
Prieto, who turned 22 this month, vanished just hours after arriving in Florida, where Cuba is to play for a spot in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Baseball is Cuba’s national sport and the team is now weakened by the loss of one of its top players, an infielder and powerful hitter.
The 41-member Cuban delegation had gone through a long and complicated process to obtain visas for the United States, which maintains sanctions against Havana.
Cuba’s ba…
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