Little Leaguers Miss Tournament, Denied Visas by US

A Venezuelan team earned its ticket to the Little League Senior Baseball World Series in South Carolina by winning the Latin American region qualifying tournament last month. But Cacique Mara was shut out of the international event, which began Saturday in Easley, when the US denied visas to its members, USA Today reports. President Trump's executive order barring visitors to the US from 12 countries took effect in June. Venezuela was one of the countries included for travel restrictions, though the order was supposed to exempt athletes traveling for major events, at the discretion of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, per Politico.

The team posted video of an interview with its president, the players sitting behind him. "This is a sad and regrettable situation," Kendry Gutiérrez said in Spanish. "They want to have the opportunity to go play." A team from Tamaulipas, Mexico, has taken Cacique Mara's place after finishing second in the qualifier. The Little League Senior Baseball World Series is separate from the Little League World Series held each year in Williamsport, Pennsylvania; the senior tournament involves older players—13 to 16—and uses a larger field. A statement by Little League International called the development "extremely disappointing, especially to these young athletes."

White House officials declined to comment on the issue, and a State Department spokesperson told Politico the situation is under review. In the meantime, the tournament, which runs through Aug. 2, is in its second day. "What do we do with so much injustice, what do we do with the pain that was caused to our children?" Cacique Mara said in a statement, per the AP.