The Cuban softball player Yasmani Álvarez arrived nervously at the Refugee Office of the General Directorate of Migration of the Dominican Republic, but the first words from the official who received him changed everything.
According to the account of the Cuban content creator residing in that country through the channel "Sugar with Freedom", the official told him: "We were waiting for you, look, you are going to do this, feel free to act, to move around, to do, feel free, you are one more of the Cubans we want in the Dominican Republic."
Álvarez was the second of the five Cuban athletes who defected during the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo 2026 to begin the process of legalizing their stay in the Caribbean country.
The path to that office was not easy. Since their arrival in the Dominican Republic, Cuban authorities confiscated the passports of the delegation's athletes and placed them under constant surveillance. The YouTuber described that when some friends went to visit Álvarez, “the surveillance they had was such that they barely allowed them to speak.”
In order to stay, the softball player had to act in a split second. "It was amazing what this kid had to do; this young man had to leave everything behind—his clothes, everything—to be able to remain, because it was a split-second opportunity to escape that surveillance and pressure," explained the content creator.
The two Cuban athletes who started asylum procedures with the Refugee Office are part of a group of five athletes who left their delegations between late July and mid-August.
The first to defect was the field hockey goalkeeper Moisés David Torres Puig, on July 24 during the Games. Four days later, the rower Leah Daniela Almeida left the Cuban delegation. On August 12, the fencers Hershey Daniela de la Cruz and Adán Isbel Núñez Pina decided to stay in the country after completing their participation in the competition.
The context of the defections was marked by unprecedented diplomatic tension. The Dominican Republic detected alleged infiltrated Cuban agents in the facilities of the Games to monitor the athletes and prevent them from escaping. On August 13, the Dominican Foreign Ministry ordered the expulsion of nine Cuban diplomats, about 21 people in total including family members, in an incident that media and anonymous sources linked to espionage on the defecting athletes.
The YouTuber from "Azúcar con libertad" requested discretion regarding the details of the regularization process: "There are things that need to be kept under the radar." At the same time, he invited those who wish to collaborate with the defectors to contact the Cuban Association in the Dominican Republic, which is receiving contributions to support them.
The defection of Cuban athletes at international competitions is a recurring phenomenon that has persisted for decades, driven by the restrictions imposed by the regime on its athletes: confiscation of passports, constant surveillance, and the presence of state security agents. The Santo Domingo 2026 Games have become the latest stage for this exodus.
Related videos:
Filed under: