[AFP] Half of the Cuban men's field hockey team at the Pan American Games in Toronto defected to the United States.One player and other sources close to the Cuban delegation said eight of the 16 Cuban players had deserted, while team member Roger Aguilera put the number at seven, the latest in a series of Cuban defections across several sports.
"Everyone knows what happened to our team, we have seven of them in the United States," Aguilera said after the Cubans were hammered 13-0 by Trinidad and Tobago. Short of manpower, Cuba could only field eight players instead of the usual 11 plus five substitutes.
They are not the first Cubans to defect during the Pan Am Games. Four rowers disappeared last week, including silver medalist Orlando Sotolongo.
In January 2013, Cuba eliminated legal barriers to foreign travel, but that did not end the defections of artists and athletes, who are still susceptible to the lure of higher pay abroad. In an attempt to stop the losses, Cuba raised salaries of athletes, and began allowing them to sign contracts with foreign clubs. But the defections have continued, including at this month's football Gold Cup.