VIDEO SHOWS: CUBAN BASEBALL PLAYERS TRAINING / SOUNDBITES FROM PLAYERS, MANAGER RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: HAVANA, CUBA (JANUARY 29, 2026) (REUTERS – Access All) 1. CUBAN PLAYER PRACTICING BATTING AT THE LATIN AMERICAN STADIUM IN HAVANA  2. CUBAN PLAYER PRACTICING PITCHING  3. CUBAN PLAYER PRACTICING BATTING  4. MANAGER OF CUBA'S NATIONAL BASEBALL TEAM FOR THE UPCOMING 2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC, GERMAN MESA, SPEAKING TO MEDIA  5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MANAGER OF CUBA'S NATIONAL BASEBALL TEAM FOR THE 2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC, GERMAN MESA, SAYING:    "I'm not responsible for visas, you see? My job is to manage the team. I'm in charge of preparing the team, but when it comes to immigration procedures at embassies and things like that, I'm not the right person to answer your questions."   REPORTER ASKING: Expectations in this regard? I imagine that they will grant them.   "Yes, I think so, I think so, I think they will grant them to us. I am one of those who thinks positively that they will grant us the visa."  6. CUBAN PLAYERS ON FIELD DURING BASEBALL PRACTICES  7. PLAYERS HITTING THE BALL DURING PRACTICES  8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN BASEBALL PLAYER, LIVAN MOINELO, SAYING:    "The fact is that everyone is waiting for something, something serious, and I think that for me, for my teammates, and for Cuba, we are going to be as focused as possible on achieving a good result and improving on last year's fourth place finish."  9. CUBAN PLAYER PRACTICING BATTING  10. COACH THROWING BALL  11. PLAYERS PRACTICING BATTING  12. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN BASEBALL PLAYER, YOEL YANQUI, SAYING:    "Look, they're a strong team. You can't underestimate any team, you know what I mean? But I say that if we play well, if we focus, if we all come out on the same page and give it our best, I think we can make it to the second round."  13. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS DURING PRACTICES  14. FIELD AND STANDS OF LATIN AMERICAN STADIUM  STORY: Cuba hopes the United States will grant visas to the baseball team that will take part in the World Baseball Classic in March, its director German Mesa said on Thursday (January 29), even as political tensions between the two countries are rising. A preselection of Cuban players has been training at full speed for several days at Havana's Latinoamericano Stadium under Mesa's direction. It now includes only players under contract in Japan's professional league and the domestic tournament. In the upcoming 2026 World Baseball Classic—the most important baseball event at the national-team level—20 teams will take part, divided into four groups of five. The Cubans (Pool A) will compete in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and they require U.S. visas. Team Cuba's training has begun at a time of strong political pressure from Washington on Havana, intensified after the Donald Trump administration took an unprecedented step with Venezuela—an ally of Cuba—to remove its president Nicolas Maduro and his wife. (Production: Mario Fuentes, Anna Portella)
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