The Cuban boxer nationalized Spanish, Emmanuel Reyes Plan He said that everything in Cuba ends in repression and assured that leaving the island changed his life for the better.
"It was the best decision I have ever made. I don't regret all that and I would do it again. My life and that of my family has changed. Now it is a decent life," Reyes said in an interview with The Spanish.
The young boxer benefited in 2020 from a Royal Decree signed by the Government of Pedro Sánchez who allowed him to become nationalized in Spain. Since then he has been treated by the Cuban government as a deserter.
"That's what they call those of us who stayed (outside the country). We are not that. We are people who try to make a living, who want to prosper and be someone better, with our work and our sweat," he said. "Everything in Cuba ends in repression," he said.
The Cuban explained that in his homeland personal achievements are not rewarded and no matter how hard a person tries, they are not able to provide necessary material things to the family.
"If you are a champion, they take a lot of money from you and they give you what they want. Maybe a car or a house, but then you have to pay the expenses yourself. The little that you have left goes to that, because on top of that it's old," the boxer denounced in the Spanish press.
Reyes questioned What's the point of being an Olympic champion in Cuba? if they can barely support their families or clothe themselves. He assured that he knows of cases of great athletes who have ended up forgotten, abandoned by the State and asking for money on the streets of the island.
Regarding Cuban news, Reyes indicated that there is an awakening in civil society. "People are taking off the blindfold and Cuban athletes are going out because they know that where they are going to achieve things is outside, without repression for what they say or what they do," he commented.
Reyes competed for Spain in the Tokyo Olympic Games, and won bronze in a World Cup, something that country had not achieved for almost 50 years.
In July 2021, after protests on the island, Reyes faced fight with Cuban boxer Julio César la Cruz current Olympic monarch and four-time world champion. The fight had an unexpected result.
"They have given him the fight. I feel like a winner, they have taken this to the political level," said Reyes at the end of the fight in which he lost despite having won two entries.
The arrival of Kings to Spain was through Russia, where he was hidden for six months. He managed to enter by plane to Coruña, in Galicia, where several relatives live. The Spanish national coach, Rafa Lozano, opted for him.
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