When the summer meant a chance at reaching your dreams for young baseball players, one team had their dreams put on a halt. After maintaining a 5-0 record and winning the Latin American Regional Championship in Mexico, the Venezuelan baseball team earned a place to compete in the 2025 Little League Senior Baseball World Series in South Carolina.
The Cacique Mara Little League is from Maracaibo, Venezuela. Due to the existing travel ban of 12 countries, including Venezuela, any individuals outside of the United States who do not have a valid visa will be denied entry. After winning their regional championship, the Venezuela team headed to Colombia to apply for their visas at the U.S. embassy.
The team was not only denied their visa, but the chance to represent Latin America in the World Series.
In order to have a Latin American team playing in the World Series, the runner-up Mexican team from Santa Maria de Aguayo was sent in place of Venezuela.
The Senior League Baseball World Series is a tournament for players aged 13-16, and began on July 26. The championship game is August 2.