The Cuban baseball player of the Houston Astros, Yuli Gurriel, attended the Show de Swing Complete podcast and recounted his drama with the Cuban government that has not allowed him to return to his native nation since he left the concentration of the Ciego de Ávila, who participated in the Caribbean Series of 2016.
The laws of the island ensure that athletes who escape from a Cuban team or selected They will have to remain in exile for eight years, which is why Gurriel did not plan to visit his country recently.
However, relatives told him that the sanction had been reduced to five years, so a family visit to Cuba was reconsidered, especially to his grandmother, who is already elderly, but met with the refusal of the local government.
“(The authorities) said that all (the rest of his family) could enter except me. When we asked why, they hung up (the call) and did not give any further explanations,” he said.
Also, the infilder said that although the procedures for his return were going well, he always felt a bad omen that would not let him return to his land, and that is what ended up happening.
“By law he could go, but with me there is a different law. It seems that I am the worst of traitors“, expressed the winner of a World Series ring in 2017.
To date, the Cuban government has neither denied nor confirmed the slugger’s statements.
Gurriel described the action of the authorities, since other famous Cuban names such as Aroldis Chapman, Yasiel Puig or José Abreu have been able to enter the island without problems.
“It’s frustrating. I dedicated the 15 best years of my life, of my sports career, to Cuban baseball. This is no secret to anyone”, Yuli closed.