Cuba’s top baseball star Yulieski Gourriel and his brother Lourdes apparently went missing before dawn on Monday, 8 February 2016 after playing in the Caribbean Series that took place in Santo Domingo.
It appears that they left their hotel at 2am in a black SUV with Armed Forces number plates, according to one witness. As reported, one of the Cuban security officers tried to stop them but failed, and then the Cuban ambassador arrived looking for an explanation and the Cuban sporting authorities contacted the Dominican police to try and find them.
Yulieski, 31, is one of Cuban baseball players most sought after by the Major League teams in the United States since he played in the first World Baseball Classic in 2006. His defection in Santo Domingo, nevertheless, is said to have come as a surprise.
Twenty-two year old Lourdes, the youngest member of the family, is also a successful baseball player.
Cuban and US authorities are working on an arrangement that would allow Cuban baseball players to sign with Major League clubs without breaking the law, but this is still not allowed despite the improvement in US-Cuban relations. The commercial embargo has not yet been lifted.
In the past, Cuban players have established residency in the Dominican Republic and then signed contracts to play in Major League Baseball.
Cubano Yulieski Gourriel y su hermano abandonan selección de su país durante Serie del Caribe
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/ct-cuban-baseball-player-mlb-20160208-story.html
http://www.listindiario.com/el-deporte/2016/02/08/406997/los-hermanos-cubanos-gourriel-desertan-en-republica-dominicana
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/source-top-cuban-player-left-team-dominican-republic-36788504
