By Luisa Yanez Sun-Sentinel . Web-posted: 12:03 a.m. Aug. 10, 2000
MIAMI -- Cuba's most famous athlete has a warrant out for his arrest in the United States.
Teofilo Stevenson, 49, a three-time heavyweight Olympic gold medalist and frequent visitor to the United States, may not be returning any time soon.
If he does, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office has set the wheels in motion to have him nabbed at any port of entry, said Don Ungurait, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.
Prosecutors want Stevenson to face charges filed on Oct. 23 of aggravated assault and resisting arrest with violence.
"If a U.S. Customs agent puts his name through the computer, the open warrant will show up and he'll be taken into custody," Ungurait said.
Prosecutors said Stevenson never returned to Miami for a court appearance on the charges stemming from an assault on an airline employee and a scuffle with police at Miami International Airport.
A heavyweight champion in the '72, '76 and '80 Olympics, Stevenson is a celebrity in Cuba. He was often granted the privilege of visiting the U.S., where he attended boxing matches or traveled as a sports ambassador for the island nation.
Stevenson, called the Cuban Muhammad Ali, won his first Olympic gold medal in Munich -- where 11 Israeli athletics and coaches were murdered. Other stars that emerged that year were American swimmer Mark Spitz and Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut.
Robert Garcia, a spokesman for the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C., did not return telephone calls seeking comment on Stevenson's legal problems.
The incident at MIA erupted after Stevenson tried to force his way pass a checkpoint and board a flight to his home country. The boxer was catching the connecting flight after attending a gala function in Washington, D.C.
When United Airlines agent, Pedro DeLeon, 41, tried to stop Stevenson, the boxer reportedly head-butted DeLeon, chipping his front tooth and cutting his lip, a police report said.
Security was called. They tried to no avail to subdue the burly Stevenson, who is more than 6 feet tall and weighs more than 250 pounds.
When Miami-Dade police officers arrived at the terminal, Stevenson grew combative with them, too.
At the time, witnesses said he appeared to be glassy-eyed when he was taken away for booking at the county jail.
Stevenson posted $12,500 bond and caught a flight to Cuba that same day. He signed a promissory note saying he would appear in court at a later date.
Upon his return to Cuba, Stevenson said he lashed out because someone uttered an insult about Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Stevenson never showed up or sent an attorney on his behalf. The warrant for his arrest was issued earlier this year, Ungurait said.
"If he tries to come back, we should be able to get him," he said.
Luisa Yanez can be reached at lyanez@sun-sentinel.com or at 954-385-7920.
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