Agents of Cuba’s communist Castro regime infiltrated a recent international sports event in the Dominican Republic to prevent Cuban athletes from defecting, the local newspaper Diario Libre reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the communist agents posed as athletes of other nations to conduct surveillance on Cuban athletes until Dominican security forces took notice of their actions.
The Dominican Republic hosted the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in the capital city of Santo Domingo between July 24 and August 8. Throughout the event, a group of five Cuban athletes successfully managed to defect from the Cuban national team. Since then, the five athletes and their relatives have said that agents of the communist regime have attempted to kidnap and forcefully send them back to Cuba.
Diario Libre reported that it conducted an investigation into the irregular circumstances surrounding the sports event and the desertion of the five athletes. The newspaper stated that its investigation was able to successfully determine that Cuban state agents posed as athletes from other nations — and even wore other countries’ uniforms — to conduct surveillance against Cuban athletes without raising any suspicious. Per Diario Libre, the Castro regime agents intensified their surveillance during the first half of the sports event, as by then, two Cuban athletes had already deserted.
Dominican military officials reportedly detected Castro regime agents inside the premises of an indoor competition as they were giving chase to athletes attempting to abandon the Cuban national team. The situation, the newspaper stated, prompted the temporary lockdown of the venue and the identification of all individuals inside the building. Another similar incident reportedly took place at an outdoor stadium.
“The recurrence of these events confirmed the initial suspicions of Dominican agencies and led to the adoption of a special security protocol in response to what was deemed an act of interference,” Diario Libre wrote.
According to Diario Libre, Dominican authorities detected Cuban nationals who were not accredited to conduct security activities in the country inside the games’ premises and expelled the individuals. The newspaper clarified that it was not able to determine if the expelled Cuban nationals were detained or subjected to Dominican justice. The government of the Dominican Republic has not publicly commented on the contents of Diario Libre‘s report at press time.
For decades, the Castro regime has maintained strict control over Cuban athletes who are permitted to travel abroad and represent Cuba in international events with the goal of preventing them from deserting and fleeing from communism. Despite the draconian measures of the Cuban regime’s agents, numerous Cuban athletes have successfully managed to abandon their teams and escape communism through time.
Diario Libre reported on Wednesday that two of the five athletes have begun the registration process at the Dominican Republic’s refugee office to receive protection in the country and the other three await to begin the process. Unnamed sources told the newspaper that the process may take some time, as Castro regime officials withheld the athlete’s passports upon their arrival to the Dominican Republic. José Alberto Fernández, who leads the association of Cubans living in the Dominican Republic, explained to Diario Libre that the organization has been in touch with the athletes and has provided them legal assistance and logistical support.
The desertion of the five Cuban athletes during the Santo Domingo-hosted games occurred at a time when the Dominican Republic’s Foreign Ministry expelled nine officials of the Cuban embassy in the Dominican capital. The Dominican government, however, has not disclosed any details behind the expulsion of the Cuban diplomats or if it holds any relation with the events surrounding the five athletes. The nation’s Foreign Ministry affirmed in an official statement released at the time that “no further details regarding this matter will be provided.”
The names and ranks of the expelled diplomats remain publicly unknown at press time. However, Listín Diario claims the Cuban ambassador to the Dominican Republic was among the list of officials who departed from Santo Domingo on Sunday, August 16.
One of the Cuban athletes who deserted in Santo Domingo spoke with the independent outlet 14 y Medio on condition of anonymity over the weekend. He said Castro regime agents had allegedly attempted to kidnap him and the other athletes to forcefully send them back to Cuba. The athlete asserted that he is currently in hiding out of fear for his personal safety.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.