Trump to facilitate Cuban signing by MLB if League helps Venezuela: NPR

President Trump has resumed talks with the owners of the Major League Baseball after his administration blocked a historic deal that would have allowed Cuban baseball players to join the MLB teams without defecting.

But the White House has made it clear that in return for revising this decision, it wanted the MLB, like other island-related groups, to urge Cuba to reduce its long-standing cooperation with the Socialist Government of Venezuela.

Trump met MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Monday to discuss the league's concern that Cuban baseball players risk their lives by hiring smugglers to bring them to the United States. The White House told NPR Tuesday that it was willing to continue discussing this issue with MLB, but that administration officials had also sought help from MLB to deal with the problem. crisis in Venezuela.

"The administration will continue to hold the Cuban regime accountable for its direct role in the trafficking of citizens of the island," said a White House official at NPR. "The administration is eager to find productive ways to collaborate with the MLB to help the people of Venezuela, a country rich in MLB history but destabilized by Cuba's interference."

The Trump administration accuses Cuba of supporting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and asked Cuban security forces to leave Venezuela.

In December, MLB reached an agreement with the Cuban Baseball Federation that would have allowed Cuban players to sign contracts directly with US professional baseball clubs.

Four months later, the Treasury Department told the MLB that it was overruling a decision made at the time of Obama that would allow payments to the Cuban Baseball Federation, accusing the Cuban government of Use baseball players as "pawns". The Trump administration argued that the deal was banned because no payment could be made to the Cuban government because of long-standing US sanctions.

The fact that Trump subsequently accepted a high profile meeting with the Baseball Commissioner seemed to be a relaxation of the position and to give rise to the hope of a reversal.

"The President who meets the MLB Commissioner to discuss a topic that has recently been the subject of a decision by the administration shows that he is willing to seriously consider to change the decision of the administration that was recently made, "said Fernando Cutz, former acting director. for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council in the Trump Administration. "This shows that the president is willing to at least consider overruling the one who made the ultimate decision under him."

The purpose of this agreement is to give Cuban baseball players the opportunity to play baseball in the United States without having to make the dangerous trip overseas or to contract with dangerous smuggling operations.

Some Cuban baseball players reported being harassed by smugglers for years after their trip.

Earlier this spring, MLB hired a lobbying firm closely linked to the Trump administration to help find a solution.

John Kavulich, President of the US Economic and Trade Council – Cuba, said the meeting was particularly important from a Cuban point of view. This marks a "significant change from 60 days ago" when the Trump government was grappling with some of the toughest critics of the Cuban government, such as Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla, who was committed to fighting the plan.

But Kavulich and other experts have said that Cuba will not appeal to its longtime ally, Venezuela, for the deal with MLB – and that expectations could make the challenge even greater.

"They added elements to the resolution process, and the elements they added are extremely difficult to resolve for MLB governments or governments in the short and medium term," Kavulich said. "Whenever a problem is related to what is happening in Venezuela or how Cuba is connected to Venezuela, turn off the light and read a good book."

Benjamin Gedan, head of Venezuela's policy on the National Security Council under the Obama administration, said it was not clear whether Obama's strategy of rapprochement with Cuba would have Havana made it stand out from Venezuela, but he wondered how much isolation Cuban and his players do that either.

"By attacking MLB for its commitment to Cuba, the Trump administration is further alienating Havana, which could be a much more useful player in Venezuela than baseball executives," said Gedan.

Ric Herrero, executive director of the Study Group on Cuba, said that any effort to combat human trafficking in the region was positive, but he asked what the "administration" will actually do here, apart from making statements "to stop human trafficking.

"It seems like they're serious [about] Wanting to stop the Cuban baseball players' traffic, it seems that the cancellation of a relationship between Major League Baseball and Federación Cubana de Béisbol is not the solution. "