MLB teams ‘proactive’ in rushing Venezuelan players back to U.S.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – In the wake of the United States launching a military assault on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3 to capture him and his wife Cilia Flores, Major League Baseball officials mostly made a single plan: get their Venezuelan players to the U.S. as quickly as possible.

Those early arrivals calmed many teams’ fears about players’ safety and, ultimately, their ability to report on time for spring training, which began this week at camps throughout Florida and Arizona. According to multiple front office executives and agents who spoke to ESPN this week, most of those who stayed behind have been able to secure visas without having to overcome more difficult logistical hurdles than usual.

“As soon as the Maduro thing happened, teams said, ‘Let’s get guys here as quickly as possible,'” said an agent who represents several Venezuelan-born players. “So, a lot of people are only here for a short period of time.”

Venezuelan players who are not citizens or residents – and thus do not hold US passports – must secure a P-1A visa to travel to the US and play their baseball seasons. Because the US Embassy in the Venezuelan capital Caracas has been closed since 2019, Venezuelan players travel to Colombia or the Dominican Republic to secure their visas before flying to the US.

Two agents told ESPN that their clients have faced extremely long waits during the processing of their visas in Colombia, with one in particular being left in limbo for more than three weeks before being able to travel to Arizona for spring training. With the US making a concerted effort to crack down on immigration, others have pointed to longer-than-usual delays in obtaining visas and green cards for players from both Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, who made up 61.5% of the Opening Day roster in 2025.

In an effort to minimize this shock, teams began their process much earlier than usual.

“I’ve never dealt with a team trying to get through the visa process in December, especially for a guy who’s never been in trouble,” an agent told ESPN. “Just based on that, things are different.”

Full-squad workouts for the 30 major league teams will begin on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Many players still need to report to camp. However, among pitchers and catchers, only a few have arrived late, as happens every year. Only two were reported, atlanta braves preventive robert suarez And chicago cubs catcher moises ballesterosAre from Venezuela.

“We were active in our being [Venezuelan] Players come out early,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said, echoing the sentiments of many of his teammates.

milwaukee brewers outfielder jackson chourio He was playing winter ball in Venezuela when the US launched a military operation in his home country. He wanted to stay and finish out the season, but Brewers personnel urged him to come to the U.S.

“They’re under a lot of pressure,” said Matt Arnold, the Brewers’ president of baseball operations. “They want to play for their country and there is pressure on them at the local level. I understand that. But we have to make sure they are safe.”

In June last year, President Donald Trump signed a travel ban against 12 countries – Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen – in what he described as “protecting the national security and national interest of the United States and its people.” There were also partial restrictions and limitations on entry for citizens of seven countries, including Venezuela.

But the order exempted “any athlete or athletic team member, including coaches, persons performing essential support roles, and immediate relatives, from traveling to the World Cup, the Olympics, or other major sporting events as determined by the Secretary of State.” The U.S. State Department is assisting in bringing Venezuelan MLB players to the United States for spring training, a league official said.

The US Embassy in Caracas is expected to eventually reopen and commercial airlines are about to resume direct flights from Venezuela to the US after a seven-year hiatus, which agents of Venezuelan players hope will make the process of signing them to their teams easier in the near future.

However, this year, many of them are relieved that a potential crisis was averted.