Carlos Tabares, former star center fielder of Industriales and the Cuban national team, responded from Miami to the criticism he has received for having accepted a watering can from Gerardo Hernández Nordelo —national coordinator of the CDR and one of the so-called "Five Heroes" of the Cuban regime— as recognition for his participation in the agricultural campaign #CultivaTuPedacito.
In a video where Tabares responds to his critics, published by journalist Yasel Porto on his Dporto Sports MEDIA Facebook page and which has garnered over 54,000 views, the former player calmly defended his stance.
Tabares summed up his position in one phrase: "The past is the past; it has nothing to do with what one has in the present." The video has sparked considerable debate among the Cuban community in exile.
The controversy originates from an episode in 2025, when Hernández Nordelo presented the watering can as a symbolic gesture of recognition. This event was interpreted by some sectors of the exile community as evidence of loyalty to the regime, in contrast to his subsequent and discreet establishment in Miami.
"I have been here for almost five years, and people still do not know that I was living here in Miami," Tabares himself acknowledged in the video.
The contradiction pointed out by his critics is evident: during his active career, Tabares rejected million-dollar offers from Major League teams such as the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs, arguing his loyalty to the Cuban Revolution. Thus, he became a symbol of the so-called "loyal player," a figure that the regime promoted for decades.
His move to the United States, which occurred around 2021 without any public announcement, caused surprise and accusations of hypocrisy. On social media, some users described him as a "prime example of the double standards he learned in Cuba and applies in Miami."
Tabares, however, assures that the criticisms do not affect him. "I’m not interested in what they say about me out there, neither on social media nor anywhere else. I live my life happily in Miami, I go everywhere and have never had a problem with anyone," he stated. He also pointed out that silence is his best response: "What bothers those people the most is silence. It will never affect me. On the contrary, it makes me stronger."
Currently, Tabares works in Miami as a financial agent, teaches baseball, and plays on weekends in popular softball leagues alongside other former Cuban players such as Dalier Hinojosa, Alexei Ramírez, and Yaibel Tamayo.
Tabares had a brilliant career: he played in 25 National Series with Industriales, averaged .306 with 795 runs batted in, won the Olympic gold in Athens 2004, and the silver in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He retired on January 11, 2018 at the Latinoamericano Stadium in Havana in front of approximately 50,000 fans.
"I'm going to walk around Miami, visiting all the places. I'm going to play softball, which is what I enjoy. I'm going to continue giving classes and I'm going to keep helping people whenever I can," concluded Tabares, making it clear that he has no intention of abandoning his new life in exile.
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