r/sports • u/DoremusJessup • Jul 06 '25
Table Tennis Brazilian table tennis star denied entry to US due to having competed in Cuba
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jul/05/hugo-calderano-misses-wtt-us-smash-over-visa-issue291
u/Xycergy Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure the policy is that one cannot enter the US on an ESTA if he's being to Cuba, but he would still be able to apply for a US visa the normal way. And since he's Brazilian he's already no allowed to enter the US on an ESTA anyway, so why is a past entry into Cuba an issue here?
Edit: so on reading the article turns out he tried to enter the US with his Portuguese passport via the ESTA instead of applying for a US visa. Tbh in this case its really his own fault for not checking the details of the US immigration policy, since this policy has been in place for ages already.
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u/SubparExorcist Jul 06 '25
Cuba was re-added to the list of state sponsors of terrorism or whatever in Jan 2021. He had travelled here when it wasn’t on the list so when he did the usual stuff and when he was told he wasn’t eligible, he applied for an emergency visa but could not get it in time.
Also, I can’t find anything that said he actually travelled to the US. I think calling it denied entry is weird, because he wasn’t really denied, it’s more like he dropped the ball with the change in regulations.
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u/reignnyday Jul 06 '25
I wish more people read your post rather than just jumping to political conclusions.
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u/NearPup Ottawa Senators Jul 06 '25
I mean, it is absolutely ridiculous that visiting Cuba prevents you from using ESTA.
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u/SummerhouseLater Jul 06 '25
What he gets wrong is the part about who did what when. It’s really Google able and just one of those “maybe you shouldn’t so confidently post that” when you are wrong. That’s why their first comment is down voted - it’s wrong - and this second one is upvoted, because it sticks to the article and is correct.
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u/ThatsMyDogBoyd Jul 06 '25
reddit is not concerned with facts if its counter to their raging circle jerk. downvote and move on, that's the agenda these days.
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u/Logical-Grape-3441 Jul 06 '25
The right says anything they want without regard for truth, facts or evidence. The left has to do the actual “work” of digging into what is really true or not. The right does not know what work is and that’s lazy.
It’s like 100 scientists know less than 10 friends on Facebook. If the ground hog sees his shadow it must almost be spring. Common sense is at best a guess and asserts no reasonable form of evidence to support their theories.
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u/ChurchofMarx Jul 06 '25
But this is Reddit. The home for the laziest people on the internet. They would just call everything a racism and fascism, and call it a day while watching Hasan Piker and Vaush streaming video games.
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u/ShaunCarn Jul 06 '25
Define ages
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u/Xycergy Jul 06 '25
I guess I should have made it clearer
The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act was introduced all the way back in 2015. There were initially a few countries in there, then Cuba was added sometime in 2022/2023. So yes, Cuba may have only been recently added, but the whole "traveling to a certain country will disallow you from applying for an ESTA" policy has been in place for a decade already. Any traveler to the US, who seeks to enter via the ESTA, should have checked through the ESTA eligibility requirements before planning their trip, in case any new countries were added to the list, and then do the paperwork accordingly (i.e apply for a US visa the normal way IF a country you've visited was added to the list).
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u/Aeroncastle Jul 06 '25
His only fault is that he considered going to the country with Alligator Alcatraz
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u/Diligent-Soup-2176 Jul 06 '25
Well done and well researched 👏 👏. The bews is always sensationalist.
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u/bryan05 Jul 06 '25
ITT: no one read the article and no one even bother to look up what due process he skipped.
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u/nelly2929 Jul 06 '25
Just Americans doing American things…. Nothing to see here
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u/MelissaMiranti New York Yankees Jul 06 '25
This is even further than our usual Cuba bullshit. Having been to Cuba at some point in the past used to not be a problem.
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u/jfurt16 Jul 06 '25
Yes, it was changed in 2023
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u/deonteguy Jul 06 '25
Screw Trump and his cult for that racist act.
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u/FightOnForUsc Jul 07 '25
Trump wasn’t president in 2023?
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u/deonteguy Jul 07 '25
He claimed to have won the election so he was according to his delusional cult members.
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u/FightOnForUsc Jul 07 '25
Okay but we aren’t delusional are we? So we know Biden was president at the time.
Trump does enough horrible shit by himself we don’t need to make things up.
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u/Gon_Snow Jul 06 '25
That’s not just them doing their things. This is new behavior and unprecedented until a few months ago.
It’s extremely dangerous and puts a lot of norms at risk.
And now this is only one tiny thing among a sea of horrible things happening there so you can’t even pay attention to everything all at once
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u/11eagles Jul 06 '25
It’s not. Cuba was designated as a state sponsor of terror in 2021. Anyone who visited after was no longer eligible for a visa waiver. This guy did so and didn’t try to obtain a visa until the last minute.
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u/sly_savhoot Jul 06 '25
Yes by trump january 12 2021. I dont know why biden waited until 2025 to restore cuba . But Biden did alot of dangerous neolib stuff that allowed trump to basically take america down with him.
However im not sure what the arguemnt is here. This is on trump not Biden. Theyre both nursing home patients and id much rather vist granpa Biden than old man trump.
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u/11eagles Jul 06 '25
The argument is that this guy wasn’t denied entry, he never obtained a visa. If he had done his paperwork on-time then he would’ve been fine.
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u/sly_savhoot Jul 06 '25
Yeh I understand. Im only agreeing to the timeline.
But let's admit this is silly becuase before trump this wluldnt have been an issue. You can recognize a renowned athlete and fast track stuff for international events OR eveeyone should drop America from participating.
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u/Bill-O-Reilly- Jul 06 '25
That sounds an awful lot like your insinuating he get special treatment just cause he’s an athlete
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u/snypre_fu_reddit Jul 06 '25
International athletes literally do get special treatment to compete in events. That's an absolutely normal thing.
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Jul 06 '25
[deleted]
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u/gunnesaurus Jul 06 '25
Not sure what the EU and Russia has to do with this… But please inform us on “how the EU treats Russian athletes smoke” with context and examples.
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u/ocular__patdown Jul 06 '25
Guess chat gpt couldn't find anything for him
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Jul 06 '25
[deleted]
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u/gunnesaurus Jul 07 '25
How about you don’t make things up thinking you have a gotcha moment. You people are exhausting.
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Jul 07 '25
[deleted]
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u/gunnesaurus Jul 07 '25
Or just don’t make things up in your head and then get mad when asked why you made it up. You people live in an alternate Russian reality.
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u/SDHJerusalem Jul 06 '25
this embargo is so fucking stupid. 67 years of this shit because a bunch of gusanos are still mad that mean ol' mister castro took away their plantations.
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u/CuteGrayRhino Jul 06 '25
God, US and Cuba are still at each other's asses? I thought it was like an '80s thing.
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u/good_behavior_man Jul 06 '25
Whose ass is Cuba at in this story? Weird that you make it seem like a 2-way thing when it is only the US doing this.
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u/JohnHwagi Jul 06 '25
Cuba allied itself with the U.S.’ main enemy, the Soviet Union, after their revolution in the late 50s. Tensions rose on both sides after that, and eventually Cuba allowed for the Soviet Union to put nuclear missiles near the coast of the U.S. in the 60s. The U.S. had good reasons for sanctioning Cuba back then.
Relationships have not improved since then, and the current government is still actively hostile to the U.S., so relations have never really improved much. Cubans in the U.S. are a large voting block that largely believe their home country’s government is evil, and do not want to lift sanctions. Obama made a lot of progress towards normalizing relations, but then Trump undid a lot of that.
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u/CharacterAbalone7031 Jul 06 '25
You forgot the part where Cuba was a US puppet state before the revolution and Fidel only aligned with the Soviets after the revolution because he needed some kind of protection. Fidel didn’t even call himself a communist until after the revolution. No mention of the fact the Cuban missile crisis happed in the first place due to the US putting Soviet facing missiles in Turkey. You also forgot the part where the US continued to sanction Cuba long after the Soviet Union fell and that when relations were finally beginning to thaw under Obama, Trump came in, reversed it, Biden did nothing, and now Trump is being even more hostile.
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u/Vinca1is Jul 06 '25
Well, Obama lifted a bunch of sanctions and I'm pretty sure Trump only reversed them because Obama lifted them
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u/bigtimeru5her Jul 06 '25
Cuba is an irrelevant place that only the Cuban exiles in Florida care about.
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u/babypho Jul 06 '25
We like to pick on poor countries that cant fight back. Its why our government say nice things about Russia these days and we trade with China.
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u/yoppee Jul 06 '25
You think USA’s colonial empire and world wide hegemony died in the 80s
Child bless your sole
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u/DoremusJessup Jul 06 '25
How is the US going to react to players coming to the World Cup who have visited so called pariah countries?
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u/Get_Breakfast_Done Jul 06 '25
It is totally fine for a foreign citizen to have visited Cuba before coming to the US. Also true for the other shitlist countries: Iran, Sudan, Yemen, North Korea etc.
The only difference here is that you have to apply for a normal visa (eg B1/B2 for visitors) like the rest of the world does if you have a passport from one of the VWP countries.
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u/NearPup Ottawa Senators Jul 06 '25
You say "only difference" like that’s a small inconvenience.
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u/Get_Breakfast_Done Jul 06 '25
It’s really not that big of a deal. My wife is Brazilian and not eligible for VWP and we got her B2 visa fairly easily. Took a month or so to get the interview arranged but it’s actually better than an ESTA as it lasts for ten years and allows visits of up to six months.
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u/ShutterBun Jul 06 '25
I’m guessing they will fill their paperwork out correctly and not try to avoid applying for a visa.
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u/SmarterThanMyBoss Jul 06 '25
Probably won't allow them in. Then right wing media will spin it to feed the base and keep them engaged.
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u/SheepNation Jul 06 '25
They won't let them in. Then trump will crown team USA champions. MAGA will celebrate the "victory".
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u/Sir_JDW Jul 07 '25
The Olympics and World Cup will be a fucking disaster. Trump has ruined America.
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u/Fraternal_Mango Jul 06 '25
Oh…so we are still doing this whole Cuba thing huh? Glad to see communism is still an effective boogey man
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u/gplfalt Jul 06 '25
It's not communism per se.
It's the massive and extremely vocal/lobbying Cuban expat communities in Florida.
No point in shaking the bee's nest if you don't need to and it's "just" Cuba to politicians.
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Jul 06 '25
[deleted]
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u/Ron__T Columbus Crew SC Jul 06 '25
Because Brazil is not part of the VWP... so if he travels on his Brazilian passport he would also need a Visa to enter the US.
This entire thing/post is stupid click bait... Athlete didn't apply for Visa was denied entry wouldn't be as reddit bait though.
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u/Get_Breakfast_Done Jul 06 '25
Ironically if he was travelling on his Brazilian passport this wouldn’t have mattered.
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u/Shepher27 Jul 06 '25
The Trump administration is evil and is destroying America step by step.
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u/Mr_Panther Jul 06 '25
I agree but just had to point out this was actually implemented on Bidens watch in 2021.
This feels like non news because we just made it so Cuba travels remove the automatic approval and require manual application
This is a clickbaity title tbh
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u/TheBigCore Jul 06 '25
People say things like this and complain on Reddit, yet no one does anything in real life to actually stop him.
Why not actually do something instead of complain? I guess that's too difficult for most people.
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u/absolutsyd Seattle Seahawks Jul 06 '25
What should I do here in SW Washington my man? You just let me know what I can do to stop him.
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u/TheBigCore Jul 06 '25
I assume there's protesting, campaigning for and funding any opposition candidates, and running for office yourself, etc.
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u/nogooduse Jul 06 '25
Long overdue: international boycott of all sports events held in the US. Followed by denial of entry to any athlete who competes in the US.
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u/ichabod01 Jul 07 '25
Can’t wait for the World Cup! Love to see this administration keep on winning. /s (duh)
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u/jnighy Jul 07 '25
I'd like to remind everyone that Iran is classified to play the World Cup next year
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u/GibrealMalik Jul 07 '25
Why does it feel like other athletes, maybe of whiter skin, will still be allowed to come and play? This can't possibly be yet another racist agenda by the Trump administration, right?
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u/dmisfit21 Atlanta Braves Jul 06 '25
The World Cup is going to be such a shit show in this country next summer.
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u/snek99001 Jul 06 '25
I love it when Americans, especially those Miami gusanos, cope and seethe about Cuba.
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u/dantesdad Jul 06 '25
Trump has turned this country into a shit show of corruption and vindictiveness and we are more and more a laughingstock on the world stage.
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u/CharacterActor Jul 06 '25
This.
Visiting what countries makes you ineligible to visit or sports compete in America?
About the only eligible players in many sports for the Olympics and soccer cup are going to be American.
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u/reward72 Jul 06 '25
So all of us Canadians who regularly vacation in Cuba could now be denied entry? hmmm
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u/Maleficent_Resolve44 Jul 06 '25
Idiots at the wheel of the US govt and immigration services. He went there for some qualifiers for the world cup so they deny him entry? These guys don't even have half a brain between them.
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u/batch1972 Jul 06 '25
Well this will make the Olympics interesting.. How many athletes are going to be refused entry so the US can get a few more medals?
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u/vizag Jul 06 '25
Why the fuck are countries coming for the event? They should just drop out as a group. Of course countries like India, Russia won’t, and it will just become a right wing Olympics
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u/onyxrose81 Jul 06 '25
Yall…fuck Trump and the GOP but this is his fault. He didn’t apply using the correct visa. It’s clickbait.
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u/RN_in_Illinois Jul 06 '25
Yeah. This is almost as bad as the top player in the world, Novak Djokovic, being banned from the Australian open for not getting a covid shot.
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u/DGB31988 Jul 06 '25
Remember when they wouldn’t let Novak Djokovic (the best or second best tennis player in history depending on who you talk to) play in Australia. Let’s keep that same energy.
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u/SDHJerusalem Jul 06 '25
I think "refusing to vaccinate against an incredibly contagious disease" is a little different from "played somewhere we don't like."
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u/Remarkable_Drag9677 Jul 06 '25
This is not a nobody
Dude just won the Table Tennis world cup
And was a semi finalist in the Olympics in Paris
Imagine what gonna happen with literally thousands of athletes in the world cup and the La Olympics?