By Ronal Quiñones
HAVANA TIMES – Many famous sports figures in Cuba have left the island in recent months. Whatever the proven fact that Olympic champions receive a vital economic bonus, canoeist Fernando Dayan Jorge, the new reigning champion on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and boxer Ismael Borrero, who won the gold medal on the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, decided to go away the country.
Juan Miguel Echevarria, who won the silver medal on the Japanese Olympics, and is taken into account essentially the most promising long jump champion on this planet, also left. Possibly none of them were blissful with the proven fact that they used to earn 300 CUC, which was price greater than the USD in Cuba, and now they’re only being paid 7200 Cuban pesos on the official exchange rate, which is now the equivalent of 70 USD in purchasing power. The difference is crystal clear.
Well anyway, they’re all in numerous lands now, and regardless that a few of them have left the world of skilled sports, they’ve plans to bring to life and so they don’t should answer to anyone about what they’re doing or make propaganda.
Nonetheless,
Word has it (and we are going to only have the option to verify this when Andy is 100% free to talk) that it was the team captain, Julio Cesar La Cruz, who tipped off the authorities that his colleague was fascinated about leaving the country on the event when Cubans were just making a comeback to skilled boxing after 60 years.
That poster with the line-up in Mexico in May didn’t feature the person quick on his toes, who was taken off the list of participants just days before the match.
The sale of his private automobile stirred suspicions, which is sensible because having a automobile in Cuba is a luxury that no person lets go of unless they’re in a extremely tough financial situation (which wasn’t the case) or because they’re considering of leaving the country. In line with La Cruz himself, who later communicated to his superiors that his colleague desired to buy a greater automobile, not leave the country, but even when that is the reality it put a goal on the Matanzas-born boxer’s back.
His appearance within the music video “Pesteman” didn’t help, which was apparently dedicated to La Cruz.
Then there was a slipshod publicity stunt where Andy appears with body language that makes it clear he doesn’t agree with what he’s saying, saying that he doesn’t have an issue with La Cruz, and that he hoped to hitch the Domadores (the Cuban national team) again.
Nonetheless, the National Championships got here around and his name wasn’t on the participants list. That’s when everyone realized that something more serious was happening, and it wasn’t exactly an excellent thing.
A couple of days later, the press in other countries began to say that the two-time Olympic champion within the 64 kg category was within the Dominican Republic, or an unknown location in line with the source, but outside of Cuba in any case.
While I think the individuals who published this piece of reports had the very best of intentions, with the whole repressive apparatus on high alert it was the signal they needed to locate Andy, wherever he was, and it was the boxer’s misfortune to still be on Cuban soil.
An official statement made at the top of last month spoke about his intention to go away the island, that the two-time world champion was in a jail in Cuba’s Oriente province, and that corresponding measures could be taken later.
This week, one other statement was made, which officially removed Andy from Cuban sports, as was to be expected, which is a gravestone for his profession and a heavy burden on his hopes of living elsewhere. The truth is, he doesn’t have the fitting to use for a passport, so his only option for leaving now could be illegally, like so many have done before him.
The name Yordenis Ugas immediately springs to mind, a champion in skilled sports, who suffered the identical thing – although he didn’t get as much media attention -, when he tried to go away by unconventional means, a decade ago.
Ugas lost a number of years of his profession, and that is what appears to be waiting for Andy, who had a rather more promising future than Ugas, who became famous after beating the legend that’s Manny Pacquiao from the Philippines, last 12 months.
With out a passport, “breaking the law” is his only selection, and the Matanzas-born boxer should be one of the crucial watched individuals in Cuba. His fame is simply too powerful to permit him to flee the island and have the option to vent his personal and sport-related frustrations overseas.
If there was a option to ask for international solidarity, he’d ask for it, but I do know this won’t work in his case. So, those of us who admire him can only wish the ruling elite take their eyes off him within the meantime, and that he’s capable of leave for good, so he can take full advantage of the years he has left on this sport, that are still an excellent few and could possibly be very successful.
Global boxing deserves to see the splendor of this young man who is simply 26 years old, who danced within the ring after every fight, and through, because there have been only a few rivals worthy of his amazing talent.
Like Ugas himself told on social media, patience is required, because he’ll get what he wants in the end, it’s just unlucky that he might lose a lot time in the method.
