Sadistic, for its refined cruelty, which it executes with pleasure; sarcastic, because it mocks and offends with biting irony; and criminal, as it curtails the noble aspirations of the early years of life.

Any adjective would fall short of the United States government's latest felony against Cuba, against its sports movement. In addition to the 82 people—athletes, coaches, or managers—who, so far in 2025, have been prevented from representing their country, the most ruthless denial is made to allow girls between nine and ten years old, national champions, to participate in the Little League Softball World Series qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico.

These little girls have had their dreams stolen, their innocence even toyed with; because this government, whose embassy in Havana has not granted any of the visas requested by Cuban sports this year, has granted them their visas. But it did not do the same with their teachers.

Does the US administration believe that Cuba would leave those 14 infantas alone? Perhaps in its hysteria or anti-Cuban paranoia it believed that the Cuban Government would send them, as in that farce of 1960, when the United States manipulated the feelings of parents and children, and forced a child migration, under the lie a, which has always been their main weapon, known as Peter Pan Operation.

How can children's feelings be played with like this? What great cruelty lies within those who decide on such an aberration?

"How can we explain to nine- and ten-year-old girls from La Palma, Pinar del Río, that, after so much effort, the petty politics of the United States robbed them of their dream of playing in the Little League World Series?" questioned Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, on X. He added that "it's not just a blow to sports, it's robbing them of their dreams."

The White House's decision reveals, once again, that the hostile policy of the United States government is directed against the Cuban people, including its children.

Although alienating, this stance is not surprising. Of all the UN member nations, only one has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which, in November 1989, was the first treaty recognizing that children and adolescents have their own rights. The United States is the only country that has not signed that agreement, which, with 196 adherents, is the most widely ratified human rights commitment in history.

The Cuban girls whose rights are being violated today are from the same province as a giant like Mijaín López. Perhaps even this frightens the fearful empire, because an example like that of the five-time Olympic champion, on their uniforms and bearing the name of Cuba, is a measure of dignity so great that it’s impossible to hide.

They will continue to develop in sports, they will become champions, as they are today for Cuba in their category, and they will continue to grow under the preaching of the Commander in Chief that in Cuba "nothing is more important than a child."

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSi Translation Staff