It appears that three days ago the Migration Agency (DGM) apprehended 33 baseball players and coaches at the Las Americas International Airport (SDQ) for migratory violations.
What is known is that the baseball players (28 minors and five adults) were invited to the Dominican Republic to participate in a tournament from 12 to 14 at the baseball training complex run by major league scout Epy Guerrero in Villa Mella. According to Guido Villamizar, a list with the names of the ballplayers and the accompanying personnel had been deposited at the main offices of the DGM in Santo Domingo, but the authorities had not cleared their entry.
Patrick Guerrero, who manages the baseball complex name for his father, says that these ballplayers arrived in the Dominican Republic as amateurs, but the immigration authorities apparently want them to enter the country as professionals so they would need a different type of visa. Four teams are scheduled to play in the tournament, two Dominican and two Venezuelan, and this is a tournament that is held every year.
As reported in Diario Libre on 11 January 2018, the ball players did not comply with the protocol signed with Major League Baseball and the baseball academies operating in the country that establishes the ball players need to apply for a visa. The DGM said that the Venezuelans sought to enter as tourists, when they were coming to workout at a well-known baseball academy.
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Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Migracion
11 January 2018
