HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — The Cuban women’s national volleyball team was denied a chance to play in a tournament in Puerto Rico following the new visa restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Cuban Volleyball Federation said last week that the team, comprising 12 athletes, a referee and several coaches, had their visa request denied and will be unable to attend the tournament later this month.
“The disappointment is huge because I train every day, every hour of training is leading up to this and dedicate myself to it,” national team player Laura Suarez told The Associated Press. “It’s really disappointing not to be able to participate in the competition, which is what I’ve been preparing myself for.(asterisk)
Cuba was scheduled to play in the NORCECA Women’s Final Four tournament in Manatí, Puerto Rico. The tournament includes Puerto Rico, Mexico and Costa Rica and it awards ranking points toward qualification for the Volleyball Nations League.
“We were focused on the competition because it’s right there," said Dayana Martínez, another player. "Arriving at the embassy and being denied the visa affects us a lot because that competition gives us points to improve our ranking,”
The Cuban team's coach, Wilfredo Robinson, said the decision means his team is likely to miss out on the Nations League.
“The competition grants points for each match and at the end it all adds up," Robinson said. “In September, we have another tournament and if we get there needing to achieve 80 or 100 points we are not going to be able to do it.”
The United States added Cuba to a list of 12 countries with restrictions for entering the U.S. or its territories, effective from early June. It includes nationals from Afghanistan, the Republic of Congo, Iran, Venezuela and other nations.
“Denial of visas is part of a racist and xenophobic list of visa restrictions,” Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez wrote on his X account.
In a message sent to The Associated Press, the U.S. Embassy in Cuba stated that, according to its privacy policies, it could not comment on specific cases but that directives were being implemented to secure the borders and protect U.S. communities and citizens.
The Cuban women's national team won back-to-back world championships in 1994 and 1998. It also won three Olympic golds in a row in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.
The U.S. measures are likely to impact many more Cuban athletes who depend on international competitions, including some on American soil to qualify for major championships and the next Olympics scheduled to be played in Los Angeles in 2028.
AP Volleyball: https://apnews.com/hub/volleyball
The Cuban women's national volleyball team trains in Havana, Cuba, Monday, June 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
ACEH TAMIANG, Indonesia (AP) — Emergency crews raced against time on Friday after last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides that struck parts of Asia, killing more than 1,500 people. Relief operations were underway, but the scale of need overwhelmed the capabilities of rescuers.
Authorities said 883 people were confirmed dead in Indonesia, 486 in Sri Lanka and 185 in Thailand, as well as three in Malaysia.
Many villages in Indonesia and Sri Lanka remained buried under mud and debris, with nearly 900 people still unaccounted for in both countries, while recovery was further along in Thailand and Malaysia.
As the waters recede, survivors find the disaster has crippled their villages’ lifelines. Roads that once connected the cities and districts to the outside world are severed, leaving some areas accessible only by helicopter. Transmission towers collapsed under the weight of landslides, plunging communities into darkness and causing internet outages.
In Aceh Tamiang, the hardest-hit area in Aceh province, infrastructure is in ruins. Entire villages in the lush hills district lie submerged beneath a thick blanket of mud. More than 260,000 residents fled homes once on green farmland. For many, survival hinges on the speed of aid as clean water, sanitation and shelter top the list of urgent priorities.
Trucks carrying relief supplies crawl along roads connecting North Sumatra’s Medan city to Aceh Tamiang, which reopened almost a week after the disaster, but distribution is slowed by debris on the roads, said the National Disaster Management Agency’s spokesperson Abdul Muhari.
An Associated Press photojournalist described widespread devastation in Aceh Tamiang after flash floods tore through the area, with cars overturned and homes badly damaged. Animal carcasses are scattered among the debris. Many residents are still haunted by the 2004 tsunami that devastated Aceh and killed around 230,000 people globally, with 160,000 in Aceh alone.
On a battered bridge spanning the swollen Tamiang River, families found shelter under makeshift tents of bed sheets and torn fabric.
A survivor there, Ibrahim bin Usman, cradled his grandsons on the muddy ground where his home once stood. He recounted how floodwaters full of logs hit his house and the houses of his children and his siblings, forcing his family of 21, including babies, to cling to the roof of a warehouse before being evacuated by a small wooden boat by fellow villagers.
“Six houses in my family were swept away,” he said. ”This wasn’t a flood — it was a tsunami from the hills. Many bodies are still buried under mud.”
With wells contaminated and pipes shattered, the floodwaters have turned necessities into luxuries.
Resident Mariana, who goes by a single name like many Indonesians, broke down in tears when recalling how she survived as water surged into her village on Nov. 27. “The water kept rising, forcing us to flee. Even at higher ground, it didn’t stop. We panicked.”
The 53-year-old widow said she and others eventually reached a two-story school, but survival was grim: there was no food or clean water. "We drank floodwaters after letting it settle and boiling it. Children drank it too," said Mariana, whose home was flattened.
A clothing trader in the village of Kampung Dalam, Joko Sofyan, said residents had no choice but to drink the same water that destroyed their homes as they waited for aid, causing children to fall ill.
“My house is just rubble now,” said Sofyan, a father of two. ”We need food, medicine, and clean water urgently.”
While some relief has trickled in, survivors say they need household equipment to cook food.
Frustration is mounting: “Why isn’t there a public kitchen? We have nothing left,” shouted Hadi Akher to the crowd as rescue workers struggled to maintain order among long lines of hungry villagers near a truck full of aid supplies.
Akher, who was bare-chested like most men in flood-hit areas due to lack of clothing, blamed deforestation for worsening the disaster, accusing local officials of corruption.
“This deadly floods happened because too many officials here are corrupt," he said, causing the crowd to grumble.
Karmini reported from Jakarta. Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed reporting.
A survivor holds a cat as he walks at an area devastated by flash flood in Aceh Tamiang on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Survivors carry relief goods at an area devastated by flash flooding in Aceh Tamiang on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Survivors take shelter at a makeshift hut at an area devastated by flash flooding in Aceh Tamiang on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
A survivor carries relief goods at an area devastated by flash flooding in Aceh Tamiang on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
A survivor carries a bag of salvaged items at an area devastated by flash flood in Aceh Tamiang on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
