Cuba has officially closed its registration for the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games with a delegation of 504 athletes, as confirmed by the conclusion of the registration schedule last Monday.
The figure exceeds 494 athletes that the island sent to San Salvador 2023 and represents one of the largest delegations that Cuba has sent in recent years for this regional tournament.
The Games will take place from July 24 to August 8 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and will bring together nations from the region in 40 sports. Cuba will compete in 42 disciplines and in 356 of the 497 events scheduled.
More than 500, but the figure may still be adjusted
The official registration recorded 504 athletes, although the General Director of High Performance at INDER, José Antonio Miranda Carrera, had announced on July 2 during the Round Table a slightly different figure: 506 sportspeople —267 men and 232 women— spread across 37 sports and 43 disciplines.
The difference between the two figures is due to the administrative process itself.
According to JIT on Monday, "the schedule set by the organizers has been completed, although the final confirmation of the rosters will still go through the technical meetings prior to the start of activities in each sport."
In any case, Miranda Carrera was clear about the meaning of the figure.
“The first major achievement is having classified 506 athletes, in 37 sports and 43 disciplines, surpassing the delegation from San Salvador 2023,” he said.
A huge challenge in the midst of the crisis
The INDER official acknowledged that gathering more than 500 classified athletes was no easy task. “Reaching 506 classified athletes has been a huge challenge in terms of competition, logistics, finance, and materials,” he stated, attributing the difficulties to the U.S. embargo.
Among the specific limitations, Cuba was unable to participate in the swimming and open water qualifying events, which would have allowed it to surpass the 520 athletes. Only four swimmers—Vladimir Hernández, Yadiel Estrada, Laurent Estrada, and Andrea Becali—secured spots through automatic placements from the Central American and Caribbean Sports Confederation (COSADO).
INDER maintains between 900 and 1,000 athletes in the national pre-selection, of which 221 are returning from the San Salvador 2023 delegation.
The goal: To return to the podium of the medal table
Cuba finished third in San Salvador 2023 with 74 golds, 59 silvers, and 63 bronzes — a total of 196 medals — behind Mexico (134 golds) and Colombia (87 golds). The official goal for Santo Domingo is to repeat that podium and surpass it.
Miranda Carrera specified that the goal is to secure around 68 gold medals, although she clarified that "starting on the 25th, we have the possibility for medals every day of the competitive calendar," with the last three days of the event concentrating the largest number of titles for the Cuban delegation.
Beyond the regional medal tally, the Games have an additional strategic value: 19 of the 40 sports offer qualifying spots for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, making Santo Domingo a key step in Cuba's roadmap to Los Angeles 2028.
Flag bearers, boxing, and the return of football
The flag bearers of Cuba for Santo Domingo will be Leyanis Pérez and Julio César La Cruz, appointed in May. Pérez, the world champion in triple jump, successfully defended her indoor title in Toruń, Poland, in March 2026.
La Cruz, a two-time Olympic champion and five-time world heavyweight boxing champion, retained his world title in the Bahamas in December 2024.
Cuban boxing secured 13 spots—seven in men's divisions and six in women's divisions—following the qualifying event held in Guadalajara, Mexico, in March 2026.
One of the most striking developments is the return of Cuban men's football to the Central American Games, having been absent since 2014.
The team qualified automatically after Jamaica withdrew from their qualifying match and was placed in Group B alongside Panama, Costa Rica, and Colombia. Their first commitments will be on July 30 against Guatemala, August 1 against Mexico, and August 3 against Venezuela.
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