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Alden Gonzalez
Multiple Authors
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Following the recent U.S. military strike in Venezuela aimed at capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, Major League Baseball executives largely unified around one key strategy: expedite the arrival of their Venezuelan players to the United States.
The prompt arrivals alleviated many teams’ concerns regarding player safety and their timely reporting for spring training, which has commenced in camps across Florida and Arizona this week. Most of those who remained in Venezuela have managed to secure visas without facing unusually challenging logistics, as reported by several front-office executives and agents who discussed the situation with ESPN this week.
“When the Maduro situation unfolded, teams quickly decided, ‘Let’s get our players here as soon as we can,'” shared one agent representing several Venezuelan athletes. “So, many players have been in the U.S. for quite some time.”
Venezuelan players who are neither U.S. citizens nor residents must obtain P-1A visas to enter the U.S. and participate in their baseball seasons. Since the U.S. embassy in Caracas has been closed since 2019, these players travel to either Colombia or the Dominican Republic to secure their visas before heading to the U.S.
Two agents informed ESPN that their clients faced exceedingly long wait times to process their visas in Colombia, with one player waiting over three weeks before finally making it to Arizona for spring training. Amid the U.S. government’s focused efforts to tighten immigration controls, longer-than-normal delays for obtaining visas and green cards have been reported for players from both Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, who accounted for 61.5% of Opening Day rosters in 2025.
In a bid to mitigate the impact, teams initiated their visa processes earlier than usual.
“I’ve never encountered a team trying to process visas in December, especially for someone without any prior issues,” one agent expressed to ESPN. “Clearly, things are different this year.”
Full-squad workouts for the 30 major league teams are set to commence on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. Many players still need to check in at camp. yet, among the pitchers and catchers, only a handful have arrived late, as is typical each year. especially, only two of these late arrivals hail from Venezuela: Atlanta Braves reliever Robert Suarez and Chicago Cubs catcher Moises Ballesteros.
“We took proactive steps to have our [Venezuelan] players come in early,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian remarked, reflecting the sentiment of many fellow executives.
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio was participating in winter ball in Venezuela when the U.S. initiated military action in his homeland. He initially preferred to stay and complete the season, but Brewers staff urged him to return to the U.S.
“They’re under immense pressure,” noted Matt Arnold, Brewers president of baseball operations. “They want to represent their country, and there’s local pressure as well. I understand that. But we must ensure their safety.”
In June of the previous year, Trump enacted a travel ban affecting 12 countries — including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen — attempting to “protect the national security and national interests of the United States and its residents.” also, there were restrictions on entry for nationals from seven countries, including Venezuela.
even so, the order allowed an exemption for “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches and essential support staff, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting events as determined by the Secretary of State.” An official from the league confirmed that the U.S. Department of State has been assisting in the entry of MLB players from Venezuela for spring training.
The U.S. embassy is anticipated to reopen in Caracas eventually, and commercial airlines are slated to resume direct flights from Venezuela to the U.S. following a seven-year hiatus, providing optimism for agents of Venezuelan players regarding easier access to their teams in the near future.
This year, however, many are just relieved that a potential crisis was averted.
