HAVANA: Two brothers who were stars of Cuba's national baseball team deserted Monday after being poached by international sporting agents while at a tournament in the Dominican Republic, state media said.
It was one of the most high profile of countless desertions by athletes from the communist-ruled island.
Yuliesky Gurriel, 31, and his brother Lourdes, 22, deserted from the team in Santo Domingo where they had been playing for Cuba in the Caribbean Series.
"In the early hours of this morning they abandoned the hotel where the Cuba baseball team was staying," said a government statement published in state media.
The players left "with the clear intention of handing themselves over to traders in professional, for-hire baseball," it added.
Yuliesky and Lourdes are the sons of a Cuban baseball legend also named Lourdes Gurriel.
Yuliesky was considered the best player on the Cuban team in the Caribbean Series, which was won by Mexico on Sunday.
Sporting experts have estimated that big league teams might pay up to $100 million to sign each of the Gurriel brothers.
The Nuevo Herald newspaper in Miami, citing an unidentified witness, reported that the players left their hotel about 2:00 am, apparently in a military truck.
Cuba has won three Olympic baseball titles and 25 Baseball World Cup crowns.
But its fortunes in its favorite sport have declined due to a wave of desertions.
More than 100 players fled the island last year hoping to play for foreign clubs.
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