Cuban Baseball Players Being Interviewed by Feds

Sports

On Tuesday it was reported that federal authorities in the United States have been interviewing Cuban baseball players in the MLB to obtain more information about alleged smuggling rings that have brought a number of them to the United States.

A man by the name of Gilberto Suarez was charged for his alleged role in smuggling Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig out of Cuba and into the U.S. The 40-year-old pleaded not guilty to a charge of alien smuggling conspiracy last week and investigators are seeking millions of dollars in cash and purchases that Suarez allegedly received from Puig's $42 million contract.

Court documents also indicated back in April that Puig, and a Cuban boxer who was also smuggled to the U.S. during the same operation, have been receiving death threats from their alleged smugglers because of unpaid debts. Suarez and others allegedly financed the $400,000 smuggling trip, which took Puig and the boxer, Yunior Despaigne, by boat to Isla Mujeres near Cancun, Mexico. The two were then taken to Mexico City by ferry and granted residency by the Mexican government. Puig was then soon signed to a $42 million contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers, of which he reportedly owes 20% to both the Cuban- and Mexican-based smugglers.

According to sources, Puig has been interviewed on several occasions and is fully cooperating with federal authorities throughout the investigation. The feds are looking to solve the Suarez case, which almost mirrors that of Eliezer Lazo. The 41-year-old Lazo pleaded guilty in August to U.S. extortion charges involving the smuggling of more than 1,000 Cubans that netted him $1.5 million, according to assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Davidson. His smuggling venture is believed to have included Texas Rangers outfielder Leonys Martin.

In the documents for Suarez's case, Puig is believed to be the person who is referred to as "Y.P." and there are two others - "M.A.G." and "A.D." - that investigators are seeking out to find out what they know. Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez and Aledmys Diaz are two other MLB players who are believed to be paying smugglers a cut of their contract, as it was discovered Puig was doing when "at least one person affiliated with the Mexican-based smugglers who initially got Puig out of Cuba showed up at the Dodgers' team hotel and demanded Puig pay the money they felt they were still owed," ESPN reported back in April.

Both the U.S. and Cuban governments are seeking out these smugglers and are recruiting baseball players to become informants regarding the subject. Secret police in Cuba are believed to be watching the Cuban players within their country to obtain information about the smugglers, while U.S. officials are calling MLB teams to speak with any Cuban players on their rosters.