Migratory chiefdom

The members of Cacique Mara are not dangerous criminals, although, to use a cliché, it is a name that has a gang resonance.

But no, its members are not part of a gang , of which the president of the United States speaks so much and so badly, released from the prisons or mental asylums of Venezuela with the order of the government of Nicolás Maduro to sneak into the promised land and cause havoc with their crimes.

A note: US intelligence services contradict this rhetoric and assert that there is no evidence that Maduro commands an army of villains whose mission is to invade the wealthy North American nation.

The Cacique Mara, whose members range in age from 13 to 16, are a baseball team, seemingly unbeatable given the players' great talent in the sport, but they have been defeated by the usual immigration bureaucracy in the U.S.

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In June, they swept the qualifying tournament for the world championship of the so-called Senior League (there's a more famous one, the Little League, for children ages 10 to 12). When that annual event kicked off a week ago, their spot in the big tournament, held annually in Easley, South Carolina, was taken by a Mexican team.

The Venezuelans were denied entry visas under the White House's visa ban for at least a dozen countries. "The appropriate procedures have been followed," a State Department spokesperson responded, to the frustration of these young people, who aspired to make their dream come true.

Venezuela is the birthplace of magnificent baseball players who have earned significant acclaim in the American major leagues (MLB). Miguel Cabrera, Johan Santana, and the little giant José Altuve (at least for a time, he was the shortest player in the league) all grew up in the South American country.

The Cacique Mara's repercussions go beyond a minor championship on the global stage. Some, however, have raised the alarm. The current immigration regulations are supposed to have two exceptions: next summer's World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Both events will be held under the current administration in Washington, and the fear that athletes and fans from these suspect nations will be banned, according to government guidelines, is deeply worrying to many leaders, given the daily occurrences of deportations. Mistakes often go uncorrected.