Nineteen members of the baseball equipment Team Guevara de Venezuela Requestaron political asylum In the city of Barcelona, Spain. It was after their coach left them in that country in the framework of a tour they made by the Iberian Peninsula.
The team was accompanied by the coach and club president, Julio Guevara, who He returned to Caracas for health and left stranded to the squad In Madrid.
On March 12, Guevara had posted on his Instagram social network (JulioGuevara.beisbol) a reos announcing the arrival of the team to Spain. In the video you see young people with their suitcases walking and he, in the foreground of selfie. Accompanied the post with the description: “The Senior League Warriors Latin American Sub 23 arriving in Europe to compete 2025 “.
Spanish media said that The athletes had the return flight planned To Caracas this Monday, but after wandering the streets of Barcelona they decided to stay in the country. Finally they all presented together this Monday at the immediate vicinity of the National Police in the Catalan city and They requested asyluma procedure that requires a long process, but as described by the newspaper La Vanguardia, who work in international protection of the foreigner Brigade, The times accelerated And they summoned Venezuelans on Thursday at a police station in Barcelona, where they must express the reasons for their application.
There are data that are still unknown, such as the moment when young people traveled to Barcelona. Apparently, Two of them would be minors And they were attended by the Immigrants, Emigrants and Refugee Service (SAIER), while police officers worked throughout Monday morning looking for place for the elderly because there was no quota available for them.
According to the schedule of matches they were going to play, they had matches in Barcelona and Madrid and Also in Italy. The baseball game in the Spanish capital was suspended because the climatic conditions did not allow them to be played and, according to the players, they came to play Only once in Barcelonabut Do not remember the name of the team they faced.
In addition, the members of Team Guevara who approached asylum indicated that Guevara assured them to feel bad and that I had a rash for which he traveled to Caracas and left them stranded at the Madrid airport, a place where some nights passed, the Spanish press detailed.
The doubt focuses on the exit that baseball players sought, which They did not turn to their embassy or consulate. It is presumable that they have taken advantage of the instance to try to leave their land, under the Chavista regime of Nicolás Maduro. In recent years, Spain has registered an increase in Venezuelan asylum applicants, who in 2024 again lead the requests, representing 40% of the wholel according to the German agency DW.
According to the chronological reconstruction of coach Guevara, he had published the line up of the players to face San Lázaro on March 23. The previous day he published two videos on Instagram with a “advice”: “What we We sow right now, we reap it tomorrow. Today I invite you so you can move on. I repeat you, depart from that rotten system That does not bring you anything good, “he said as he walked the streets.
“My people arrived, the time came. The world has changed. We are 8,500 kilometers from our house and continue forward, looking for glory, seeking to help Our boys who go ahead Because in reality Team Guevara works on the generation of relief, “he said in another social media video. On March 27 he showed, through A Tik Tok, how their players trained. That was the last appearance In coach’s networks.
Researchers are trying to contact Julio Guevara to see if there is any reason for investigation in the reasons for the asylum order. They still don’t know anything about the coach’s whereabouts.