Venezuela's Joshua Duran, left, leaps in the arms of Venezuela's Diego Biarreta (19) as they celebrate after their win over Japan in a baseball game at the Little League World Series tournament in South Williamsport, Pa., Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)

In addition to all of the challenges faced with competing in the Little League Baseball World Series, one team has had to traverse the event with less support than the rest.

The Latin America team, which is composed of Cardenales Little League based in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, were forced to travel alone to the United States after the parents of the athletes were unable to obtain visas to travel.

Unlike the other 19 teams both national and international, whose parents and family members can be seen rapturously cheering on their teams, Latin America will not have as much support when they take the field at Volunteer Stadium this week.

“We are happy to [stay] in touch,” discussed Team Latin America manager Luis Bermudez through a translator on Wednesday. “They get in touch every other day to give their support. And for the small number of people that came from the country that are present here, they are very happy that they have their support.”

In June, President Donald Trump issued an executive order restricting travel of several countries, including Venezuela, into the United States based on national security risks. Venezuela was called out in the president’s executive order for lacking “a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures.”

The excursion to South Williamsport is a familiar one for Cardenales Little League. The team from Barquisimeto represented Latin America at the Little League Baseball World Series in 2024, taking third place with five wins in the tournament. There were no reports of visa issues with the team in the previous campaign.

“From previous experiences, we have worked with them,” discussed Bermudez via translator when asked about contact with family members. “We’ve spoken with them, we are trying to keep in touch with them by phone. So they have been managing.”

With the absence of many family members, the situation creates added pressure for the team hosts to make sure the attention and needs of the young athletes are met.

“When we found out that no family members were coming, we got everybody together as far as the uncles and the other teams, and we wanted to show support for them,” said Ron Bainbridge, who is in his first year as a team host in partnership with Matt Burrows, who is an uncle for a sixth year. “They are a great group of kids and they are very respectful… I don’t want them to leave, let’s just put it that way. We’ve developed so many relationships with them. The last day is going to be really tough on us, regardless.”

“The word started circulating around the grove,” Pastor Brad Walmer of New Covenant United Church of Christ, who is serving as a substitute host this year, said. “When I heard that, I felt like sharing that so the community could come out to help.”

Walmer was happy with the efforts to draw crowds to cheer for the Venezuelan team.

“I thought it was great,” he said. “The stands were packed and people were cheering. It’s great to see the community rallying to support the kids.”

The controversy comes in the same month that Venezuela’s Senior Little League team, the Cacique Mara team from Maracaibo, Venezuela, were denied visas into the US for the tournament that took place in Easley, South Carolina. The team was comprised of players between the ages of 13-16 years old, unlike Cardenales’ Little League team that selects the next age group below. Latin America, through Venezuela’s Coquivacoa Little League also based in Maracaibo, were defending champions in the tournament.

Over 2,000 miles from their hometown, Cacique Mara played with cool heads in their LLBWS opener by dispatching Puerto Rico 5-0 in the opening game of the tournament. Juan Reyes took the most plaudits, pitching a six inning shutout that featured just three hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts.

La Vinotinto followed their tournament opening performance with a statement 4-0 result against the Canadians. With the win, Venezuela advances to the upper third round against Japan on Monday, with the winner moving on to the upper bracket final.