Yahoo! May 23, 2001
Cuban Singer Defects to Miami
MIAMI, 22 (AP) - A popular Cuban singer who defected during an airport
layover was released from federal custody in Atlanta on Tuesday and hours later
was reunited with his wife and daughter in South Florida.
Manuel Gonzalez Hernandez - called Manolin by his fans and known as the
Salsa Doctor - was greeted by his wife, daughter, and several reporters shortly
after he arrived in Miami Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm very happy to be here in Miami,'' he said. "They respected me
and treated me well in Atlanta.''
Gonzalez asked for asylum Thursday when a connecting flight from Mexico to
Miami, where he was to perform, stopped in Atlanta. He was detained at the
airport here by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Gonzalez's lawyer, Enrique Hernandez, will file an application for political
asylum within 30 days. The singer has already secured a work visa.
The singer has defected at least once before, criticizing Cuba's Communist
regime and repression of its people, but he changed his mind and returned to the
island nation. His wife and daughter have lived in Miami for two years.
Cuban Pitcher Viera Defects
By Hal Bock, Ap Sports Writer
Left-handed pitcher Rolando Viera, suspended from Cuban baseball for the
2000-01 season because officials there suspected he wanted to defect, has left
the Communist island, according to his agent.
Viera, 27, flew out of Cuba earlier this month with a valid visa, leaving
his wife behind, said agent Joe Kehoskie.
"Rolando is now looking forward to pursuing his dream of pitching in
the major leagues,'' Kehoskie said.
The agent would not say where the pitcher was staying. In the past,
defectors from Cuba have often gone to third countries in order to gain free
agency and then sign with major league teams.
If Viera seeks political asylum in the United States, he will be subject to
the amateur draft and will be able to negotiate only with the organization that
drafts him. If he seeks residency in another country, he would become a free
agent and could sign with the highest bidder.
Kehoskie said the pitcher was on a vigorous throwing and conditioning
program after sitting out last season.
"It's been nine months since he pitched competitively,'' the agent
said. "He's throwing now for the first time in a while with hitters. In
Cuba, he could run and he'd sneak off and throw with a friend sometimes but he
wasn't allowed on a baseball field.''
Kehoskie said he thought the pitcher was two to four weeks away from having
scouts evaluate him. The major league draft is set for June 5-7.
In Cuba, Viera pitched for Industriales, compiling an 18-10 record with 3.12
earned run average in his last two seasons. In his last full season, 1999-2000,
he was 8-6 with a 3.16 ERA, striking out 54 and walking 28 in 88.1 innings.
One of his teammates was pitcher Adrian "El Duquecito'' Hernandez, who
left Cuba last year and signed with the New York Yankees.
The Yankees' starting rotation includes Orlando "El Duque'' Hernandez,
who also pitched for Industriales and left Cuba in December 1997. No relation to
Adrian Hernandez, he signed a $4.6 million contract and won 41 games in his
first three seasons, helping the team to three straight World Series
championships.
The Yankees also signed Cuban third baseman Andy Morales to a four-year, $4
million agreement earlier this year. | 