Coach with Cuba’s Little League team goes missing at World Series

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A team from Cuba made its first appearance at the Little League World Series, but one of the squad’s coaches has disappeared.

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Jose Perez, a coach with Cuba’s Bayamo Little League squad, went missing from the Little League World Series’ International Complex in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, WNEP-TV reported.

Perez was one of two coaches for the Cuban team, The Associated Press reported. The squad is managed by Vladimir Vargas.

“Little League International has communicated to all appropriate authorities and will ensure the Bayamo Little League team continues to have the best support and experience while in Williamsport,” Kevin Fountain, senior director of communications at Little League International, said in a statement.

According to the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, Perez was seen on a surveillance camera being picked up in a vehicle and driven away by another person. Officials said the coach voluntarily left the dormitory at about 11 p.m. EDT on Saturday and entered a vehicle that was near the complex, according to the newspaper.

The Cuban Baseball Federation signed an agreement on Saturday to continue the relationship with Little League International through 2025, according to WNEP.

The Cuban squad was eliminated by Panama on Sunday, falling 3-2, WOLF-TV reported. The team opened play with a 1-0 loss to Japan on Wednesday, then defeated Australia 11-1 in an elimination bracket game.

U.S. State Department officials told the Sun-Gazette that they do not comment on “individual visa cases.”

Immigration Customs Enforcement, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, told the newspaper that it refers any updates about Perez’s status to the State Department.