The Dodgers are in the World Series, and it would not have been possible without the help of their Cuban superstar, Yasiel Puig. His road to Los Angeles, however, was not one of the most difficult situations he’s ever had to face in life.
Puig, like most Cuban defectors, has crazy stories to tell of his journey to the United States. Not many defectors, though, end up signing a seven-year, multi-million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball (MLB).
When Puig left Cuba, smugglers associated with the Mexican drug cartel took him and three other individuals to a motel in the Yucatan Peninsula. This attempt was the fifth time Puig tried to flee the island in less than a year but never expected to live through the events that unfolded.
Raul Pacheco, a small-time crook in Miami, is the man who planned the defection, telling the smugglers he would pay them a quarter-million dollars to get Puig out of the island. Things turned sour with the Mexican smugglers, and Pacheco sent in a team to rescue Puig, simulating a kidnapping.
Shortly after, Puig was playing with the LA Dodgers, but things were far from fixed. Yunior Despaigne, the boxer who originally approached Puig about leaving Cuba, claims the smugglers pulled a gun on him and said he needed to give Puig their message.
“The man told me to tell Puig that if he didn’t pay them, that they would kill him.” – Yunior Despaigne
According to Despaigne, by that point, Puig had already paid $1.3 million to Pacheco and three of his men, but the threats persisted anyway. Tired of the constant uncertainty of what might happen next, Puig reached out to an associate of Pacheco.
Gilberto Suarez, Pacheco’s associate, told Puig he would handle the situation accordingly, but never expanded on the subject. A month after their conversation, Yandrys Leon – the smuggling boat’s captain, was found without life in Cancun.
https://www.facebook.com/Dodgers/videos/10154819094248508/
Leon was found with 13 bullet holes in his body, but there is no evidence that Suarez or any of Pacheco’s people were involved in the shooting. The only certainty is that once Leon was out of the picture, threats stopped coming to Puig.
Now a baseball phenomenon in the United States, and an integral part of the Dodgers’ squad, Puig is fully-focused on obtaining his first MLB ring. The first World Series game against the Astros is scheduled for Monday, October 24th at the Dodger Stadium.