A Dominican Air Force officer is suspected of helping two Cuban baseball players, brothers Yulieski, 31 and 22-year old Lourdes Gourriel, to defect during their visit in the Dominican Republic. The brothers were playing in the Caribbean Series where their team finished in fourth place with four losses and one win. According to witnesses, the ballplayers left their hotel at around 2am on Sunday, 7 February 2016 accompanied by the military officer in a vehicle with Air Force license plates.
Dominican Air Force spokesman Colonel Fernandez Hernandez confirmed that an investigation is underway into officer William or Wilson Solis who is linked to the Cuban ball players’ escape. He is said to work in the Air Force sports department. The Air Force says he could be dismissed and charged with people smuggling. The Cuban Embassy has accused Solis of being the contact for the two ballplayers.
The authorities suspect that the two ballplayers have since left the country by crossing the Haitian border.
A few days before the two men fled, Cuban baseball director Humberto Suarez, in charge of the Tigres de Ciego de Avila team, complained that scouts had been contacting the ballplayers.
Oficial de la Fuerza Aérea de RD que “colaboró” con escape de cubanos podría ser enjuiciado
