Posted: Monday October 22, 2007 10:06PM
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) -- The Cuban government will deny entry visas to
Brazilian legislators wanting to meet with the two Cuban boxers who were
recently deported from Brazil.
The congressmen wanted to meet with Guillermo Rigondeaux and Erislandy
Lara, who abandoned the Cuban delegation at the Pan American Games in
Rio de Janeiro on July 22 and failed to appear for their weigh-ins. They
were arrested 11 days later for overstaying their visas and sent back to
Cuba a few days later.
After returning to Cuba, the two denied reports saying they had been
planning to defect.
However, a German consulate worker in Brazil said the men applied for
visas to enter Germany before they were found and deported.
Congressman Raul Jungmann said Monday that Cuban ambassador to Brazil,
Pedro Nunez Mosquera, warned that "if we requested an entry visa it
would be denied."
"The embassy claims it is an internal matter," Jungmann said by
telephone. "We respect Cuba's sovereignty, but all we want to do is find
out exactly what happened because there are still some unanswered
questions and because it all took place on Brazilian soil."
He said committee members wanted to question the two boxers about their
request for visas to enter Germany and reports saying they were deported
aboard a Venezuelan plane.
Cuban embassy spokesman Sergio Ramirez declined to comment.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/10/22/bc.box.brazil.cubanboxe.ap/index.html
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