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The relocation of the Caribbean Series 2026 to the Mexican city of Guadalajara has confirmed an unfavorable situation for Cuban baseball, as it has officially been excluded from the tournament following the forced changes due to the inability to hold the event in Venezuela.
According to ESPN, the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (CBPC) announced that the 2026 edition will take place from February 1 to 8 at the Pan American Stadium, home of the Charros de Jalisco, after the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Mexico declined to attend Caracas due to “external situations beyond their control”. This decision, of an extra-sporting nature, necessitated a redefinition of both the venue and the format of the tournament.
Under the new scheme approved by the CBPC, the champions of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico will participate, along with Panama as the invited country, and Mexico with two teams, which will be the finalists of the 2025-2026 Liga Mexicana del Pacífico.
In this context, Cuba has been excluded from the competition, as has, for the moment, the champion of the Venezuelan league, whose inclusion was left "under evaluation," as stated by the page of Pelota Cubana on the social network Facebook.
Cuba's absence from the 2026 Caribbean Series extends its exclusion from the main event of Caribbean professional baseball, despite the island's historical significance in the development of the sport in the region. This decision is not linked to sporting results but rather to institutional and political reconfigurations that continue to impact Cuba's participation in high-level tournaments.
Guadalajara had already replaced Venezuela as the host in 2018, when it hosted the tournament originally assigned to Barquisimeto. Eight years later, history repeats itself, but with a clear consequence: Cuban baseball is once again sidelined from the Caribbean Series, in a tournament marked by unprecedented changes, significant absences, and an exceptional format.
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