Cuban expatriates protest Castro and communism at World Baseball Classic semifinal
Luke Gentile
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Cuban expatriates gathered outside the World Baseball Classic semifinal on Sunday to protest the Castro regime and communism plaguing the nation they struggled to escape.
Inside Miami’s loanDepot Park, the United States trounced the Cuban team 14-2. Outside, refugees blasted the oppression of the Cuban government, according to a report.
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Jose Vilela, a 68-year-old Cuban native who has found a new life in Miami’s Little Havana, walked around the ballpark denouncing the late dictator Fidel Castro and anyone associated with his government.
“We don’t want them here,” said Vilela, who was held for six months in a concentration camp before fleeing Cuba. “None. People that work for the Castro family — we don’t want them. They can go any place they want. Go to New York. Go to California. Not Miami. I hope this is the last time they come here.”
Many of the Cuban players are technically employees of the Cuban government, the report noted.
Along with Vilela, protesters flew flags and called for the freedom of the victims of a July 2021 protest in Cuba that saw hundreds arrested after thousands took the streets to protest the economic hardship and shortages faced by the island nation.
At least three people were removed from the stadium after running on the field, the report noted.
Many shirts worn by the protesters read “Patria y Vida,” meaning homeland and life, a statement used to oppose Castro’s famous rallying cry “Patria o Muerte,” meaning homeland or death.
When asked about the protests, Cuba team manager Armando Johnson said, “We’re just here for baseball, for the sport.”
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“It feels bad, but I don’t judge,” he said when asked how he feels about native Cubans not identifying with his team.
“Like I said, everyone has his or her way of thinking,” he added. “We are on the field, and we come here just to play baseball and the sport. That’s what we wanted to do here.”