Víctor Mesa made a public appearance in Cuba once again, and it happened during a live broadcast of a baseball game, where he was shown to viewers receiving praise for his sports career.
According to a report on Facebook from the page Dporto Sports MEDIA and Ernesto Arturo Santana Deportes, the former player and ex-manager was seen at the Latinoamericano Stadium during the coverage of the match, where the commentators highlighted both his quality as a player and the results achieved with the teams he managed.
Mesa was captured by the cameras sitting in the stands while watching the game. In the footage, he is seen smiling and engaging in lively conversation with a Cuban baseball official.
The announcers began to praise him with such fervor that it verged on the absurd: statistics, anecdotes, and even his new image. The player sported a white beard, dark glasses, and a wide-brimmed hat, a look that announcer Rodolfo García described as "modern."
From that point on, it was all uphill in terms of praise. García recalled that he was a "fabulous player, incredible center fielder, formidable hitter," and stated that "he would have succeeded in any baseball."
The television host even mentioned Víctor's children, who play in the Major Leagues. "We know both of them," he said.
His companion added that, despite never having won a title as a manager, "he has the label of a winner."
Between praise, double standards, and selective memory
The praise showered on state television contrasted sharply with the comments from users on the original post.
An elderly woman called him "a despot, an abuser of power, self-sufficient."
Others, from Miami and Spain, insisted that he is a "two-faced," "snitch," and "definitely a communist."
Many acknowledged his sports greatness, but almost no one described him as a humble or beloved figure beyond the field.
Several residents in Miami were explicit: "They put it on TV over there because he said here in Miami that he is a communist," one stated. "He is still a part of the system," another added.
Many criticized the ease with which Mesa reappears on Cuban television, smiling, in a box and surrounded by attention, while other athletes who left the system—even without any known controversies—remain banned, invisible, or treated like traitors.
The official double standard is once again on display: some can return, appear on TV, and receive praise for their "new look"; others can't even visit their families.
An unavoidable review of their last years
In February of last year, Mesa celebrated his 67th birthday at a restaurant in Miami, where his family and staff members surprised him with a cake, a bubble gun, a banner, and a toast with red wine.
That was the Víctor who had been living in Florida since 2018, after saying goodbye to baseball in Cuba.
Months later, in April 2022, he traveled to Havana with his wife Eneida Ríos, after three years without visiting the Island.
He stayed at his house in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality, where—according to Swing Completo—neighbors welcomed him in a festive atmosphere. They reported that he promised to do something nice for the children playing baseball near his home.
That trip fueled the idea that he had resolved his immigration situation in the United States.
In December 2021, the channel La Voz de Vueltabajo reported that his residency application had initially been denied and that he would appeal the decision. His return to Cuba months later led to speculation that the claim had progressed favorably.
Since his retirement, the former player has dedicated himself to supporting the careers of his sons, Víctor Víctor and Víctor Mesa Jr.
Now he reappears in a baseball game in Havana, celebrated, focused on by the cameras, and described with an almost poetic devotion.
A scene that, beyond its sporting value, also exposes the priorities and flexibilities of the system: in Cuba, some exiles can be heroes… as long as they say the right things.
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