MLB ‘proactive’ in rushing Venezuelan players back

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In the wake of the United States launching a military strike on Venezuela to capture its president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Jan. 3, executives throughout Major League Baseball mostly coalesced around one plan: get their Venezuelan players to the U.S. as quickly as possible.

Those early arrivals quelled a lot of teams’ fears about the players’ safety and, ultimately, their ability to report on time for spring training, which began in camps throughout Florida and Arizona this week. Most of those who stayed behind have since been able to secure visas without navigating tougher-than-usual logistical hurdles, according to several front office executives and agents who spoke to ESPN this week.

«As soon as the Maduro thing happened, teams were like, ‘Let’s get guys here sooner rather than later,'» said one agent who represents several Venezuelan-born players. «So, a lot of guys have just been here for a while.»

Venezuelan players who are not citizens or residents — and thus don’t possess U.S. passports — must secure P-1A visas to travel to the U.S. and play out their baseball seasons. Because the U.S. embassy in Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas has been closed since 2019, Venezuelan players travel to Colombia or the Dominican Republic to secure their visas before flying to the U.S.

Atlanta Braves reliever Robert Suarez and Chicago Cubs catcher Moises Ballesteros, hail from Venezuela.

«We were proactive in having our [Venezuelan] players come out early,» Angels general manager Perry Minasian said, echoing the sentiments of many of his peers.

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio was playing winter ball in Venezuela when the U.S. launched a military operation in his home country. He wanted to stay and finish out the season, but Brewers personnel urged him to come to the U.S.

«They’re under a lot of pressure,» Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said. «They want to play for their country, and locally there’s pressure. I understand that. But we have to make sure they’re safe.»

In June of last year, President Donald Trump signed a travel ban against 12 countries — Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — in a move he described as «protecting the national security and national interest of the United States and its people.» There were also partial restrictions and limitations on entry for nationals of seven countries, including Venezuela.

But the order contained an exemption for «any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting events as determined by the Secretary of State.» A league official said the U.S. Department of State has been cooperating in getting MLB players from Venezuela into the U.S. for spring training.

The U.S. embassy is expected to eventually reopen in Caracas and commercial airlines are scheduled to resume direct flights from Venezuela to the U.S. after a seven-year hiatus, giving agents to Venezuelan players hope that the process of getting them to their teams will be made easier in the near future.

This year, though, many of them are simply relieved a potential crisis was averted.