Two Cuban fencers, Adán Núñez and Hershey Daniela de la Cruz, decided not to return to Cuba and remained in the Dominican Republic after completing their participation in the Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026, according to sources linked to the team confirmed by journalist Yasel Porto on his Facebook page Dporto ArtSports.
Both made the decision on the last day of competition in the discipline, thus joining three other Cuban athletes who had already left the delegation during these same Games.
De la Cruz, 23 years old, concluded his participation with a fifth place in the individual Sabre event and an eighth place —last— in the team competition, where Cuba lost to Venezuela. Núñez, for his part, was listed as a substitute for the men's Sabre team and left the Olympic village before the final competition took place.
The performance of the Cuban fencing team in Santo Domingo was described by the same source as "the worst in decades at these events," after securing only one bronze medal, earned by the men's épée team. A discipline that historically dominated the Central American and Caribbean Games, the Pan American Games, and even produced world and Olympic titles concluded its participation with a dismal record.
The desertions of Núñez and De la Cruz are not isolated incidents within these Games. The field hockey goalkeeper Moisés David Torres Puig was the first athlete to leave the delegation on July 24, followed by rower Leah Daniela Almeida four days later. In addition to these cases, nine of the twelve members of the canoeing team abandoned during a training camp in Montreal in July, four of whom were registered to compete in Santo Domingo.
This exodus is not new in Cuban fencing. In the previous qualifying event held in Guatemala in July 2025, a couple of defections were also recorded. The departure of prominent figures dates back decades: former world champion Taimí Chappé left for Spain in 1992; Iván Trevejo, Olympic medalist in 1996, did not return after the 2002 World Championships in Lisbon and obtained French citizenship in 2010; Rolando Tucker, world foil champion in 1994, left Cuba in 2001 and now trains at the University of Notre Dame in the United States. Elby Gregory also emigrated.
Cuba sent a delegation of 504 athletes in 42 disciplines to the Games of Santo Domingo 2026 and finished third in the overall medal count, but the exodus of athletes who do not return continues unabated.
"Among the abandoned and withdrawn, along with other economic and organizational issues, fencing has become the worst combat sport in Cuba; not only has it not recovered, but it is increasingly in worse condition," summarized Dporto ArtSports.
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