Cuba’s communist regime allegedly attempted to kidnap a group of Cuban athletes who recently defected in the Dominican Republic, the athletes denounced to 14 y Medio over the weekend.
For decades, the Castro regime has maintained absolute control over the nation’s athletes, using them in propaganda to falsely claim the “success” of communism in sports despite Cuba’s recurring lackluster performance in international competitions. Cuban athletes permitted to travel abroad to represent their country at international sporting events are subjected to draconian surveillance to prevent them from fleeing communism.
In recent days, five Cubans athletes successfully managed to escape from the Cuban delegation that participated in the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games, hosted by the Dominican Republic in the capital city of Santo Domingo between July 24 and August 8. The group, part of the over 500 Cuban athletes who participated at the event in Santo Domingo, is reportedly composed of fencers Adán Núñez and Hershey Daniela de la Cruz; softball center fielder Yasmani Álvarez; rower Leah Daniel Almeida; and hockey team goalkeeper Moisés David Torres Puig.
On Saturday, one of the athletes and relatives of the group denounced to 14 y Medio that the Cuban regime attempted to kidnap the athletes and forcefully return them to Cuba. The athlete, whose name was not disclosed, detailed that he is currently in hiding and cannot expose himself to the public out of fear for his personal security. Per the outlet, the athlete was informed by Dominican peers that the Cuban regime was still trying to locate him, suggesting he avoid connecting on social media.
“We certainly felt we were being persecuted. They sent people here to look for us,” the unnamed athlete reportedly said.
“They wanted to kidnap us in a country where they have no right to do so,” he further affirmed to the outlet.
The situation was revealed hours after the Dominican Republic expelled a group of nine Cuban embassy diplomats and their respective relatives from the country. The Dominican Foreign Ministry did not explain the reasons behind the decision, affirming that “no further details regarding this matter will be provided.”
The unnamed athlete affirmed to 14 y Medio that he believes that the expulsion of the diplomats is related to the current situation involving the defecting athletes. According to Diario de las Americas, the expelled Cuban diplomats were allegedly caught conducting espionage and abduction operations against the five athletes in Dominican territory, “as if they had police jurisdiction in the island.” Per the outlet, the Cuban embassy reportedly attempted to pressure Santo Domingo into immediately deporting the athletes. The Cuban officials also allegedly abused their security credentials during the sports event and launched a defamation campaign against the Dominican Republic ahead of the athletes’ escape.
The Dominican newspaper El Día, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, reported last week that there is no relation between the expulsion of the Cuban embassy diplomats and the escape of the five athletes — attributing the former situation instead to a “simple chronological coincidence.” Per the outlet, the diplomats were expelled from Dominican territory for their alleged abuse of their diplomatic statuses to carry out activities for the Castro regime’s intelligence and state security services.
“The decision regarding the diplomats stems from a separate process unrelated to the athletes who remained in the country after the Games,” the sources reportedly said.
The expulsion of the Cuban diplomats from Santo Domingo drew the ire of the communist regime in Havana, which accused the Dominican government of being part of a plot of “subordination” led by the United States. The Dominican newspaper Diario Libre, citing information from the local police, reported on Monday that the diplomats left the Cuban embassy without incident except for the case of a photographer who attempted to jump a fence to take a photo of the inside of the embassy.
The desertion of the five Cuban athletes in Santo Domingo occurs roughly a month after a group of nine members of Cuba’s canoeing team abandoned their country’s delegation during the third Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Cup and the Pan American Championships hosted by Canada in July. The canoe athletes who defected in Canada were reportedly expected to participate in the recent games hosted by Santo Domingo.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.