Statewire. Startribune.com. Published Tuesday, May 23, 2000. MNP Filed
MIAMI (AP) -- The Cuban baseball player who defected while his team was on a cultural exchange in St. Paul said his new life in the United States has opened up numerous opportunities -- thanks to his ability to play baseball.
Mario Miguel Chaoui defected May 6, minutes after a team of ballplayers from three Cuban universities arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to play a game with St. Thomas.
In an interview published Tuesday in the Star Tribune, Chaoui said his life as a college freshman studying economics at the University of Havana was not altogether unpleasant, but he yearned for something more.
Chaoui, 21, told the Star Tribune he wanted to see other parts of the world, seize opportunities and meet members of his extended family who had renounced their native country long ago.
" Baseball is one way to leave the country, " he said. " Baseball is a way to see something new, a chance to play in another country."
Although he had dreamed about playing baseball outside Cuba, Chaoui insists his defection was not planned. That decision came when his great-uncle Arturo Espina showed up at the airport and convinced him to go to Florida, Chaoui said.
" It was a sudden decision and when I made it I thought I was leaving everything behind, " he said
That included his parents, Mario and Maria Chaoui, and his 12-year-old sister, Cindy, who remain in Cuba. The second baseman said he hasn' t talked with them since he defected.
In Miami, he has found a new home. With help from sports agent Joe Cubas -- who represents many other Cuban baseball players -- Chaoui has applied for political asylum.
His goal is to play major league baseball. Chaoui said the sport has been his passion since he picked up a ball and glove at age 8 and he is confident he can achieve his dream through hard work.
" One needs to have consistency and discipline in training. My family and I have decided that we' re going to do this one step at a time."
In the meantime, he is making plans to continue his college education.
" I hope that God will help me and that everything will be resolved, " Chaoui said. " But the plans that I have is to study first of all, perfect my English ... and play in the major leagues someday."
Cubas has said that in making the case for asylum, he will talk about Chaoui' s fear of persecution if he returns to Communist Cuba. That fear is justifiable now that Chaoui has made public comments, he said.
Chaoui said Cubas hasn' t evaluated his baseball skills, but he has thrown a ball around with relatives and newfound friends in Miami.
As for the old friends on the team he left behind in the Twin Cities, and who since have returned to Cuba, Chaoui said he has fond memories of them
" I miss them a lot. I love them, " he said. " (But) each person searches for his own way, his own destiny. Maybe I' ll stay here and everything will turn out perfectly, God willing. But maybe things will turn out badly ... everything has its risks."
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