On Wednesday, the US and Cuba announced an agreement to restore full diplomatic relations for the first time in more than 50 years.
While the full details of the new relationship between the two countries still need to be fleshed out, the news could further open a talent pipeline from the Caribbean nation to Major League Soccer.
There have been seven Cuban players in the history of MLS, five of whom defected from their home country to chase their professional soccer dreams in the States.
The most well-known of the bunch, by far, the Seattle Sounders midfielder defected in June 2007, leaving his family, friends and country behind when he walked out of a Houston Wal-Mart while in the US with the Cuban national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Alonso initially latched on with the United Soccer Leagues' Charleston Battery, starring for the South Carolina club in 2008 before joining the Seattle Sounders for their inaugural MLS campaign in 2009. He’s been one of the Sounders most important players ever since, scoring six goals, notching 14 assists and earning four MLS All-Star selections and one Best XI nod in 172 regular-season appearances in his six seasons in Seattle.
A US citizen since June 2012, Alonso has made it known that he’d like to play for the US national team, requesting that the Cuban federation – which has not allowed him to play for their team since his defection – grant him a waiver to allow a switch. So far, that request has not been fulfilled, with the 29-year-old Alonso stuck in international soccer purgatory since 2007. Whether or not Wednesday’s announcement changes any of that remains to be seen.
The other Cuban currently in MLS is Vancouver Whitecaps Homegrown signing Froese. A Cuban-Canadian dual citizen, the 18-year-old Froese was born in Havana and spent his childhood moving back and forth between the Cuban capital and Manitoba. Now a Canadian international with one cap to his name, Froese joined the Whitecaps residency program in 2012 and signed with the first team in September, making his MLS debut in Vancouver’s 1-0 win at Seattle on October 10.
Galindo played five years in MLS, scoring 18 goals and tallying nine assists in 73 regular season appearances with Chivas USA and FC Dallas from 2007-11.
He defected in 2005, leaving the Cuban national team’s hotel in Seattle just one day after scoring Cuba’s only goal in a 3-1 loss to Costa Rica in a Gold Cup match. He stayed in the Pacific Northwest during his first two years in the US, playing for the USL Sounders before joining Chivas USA ahead of the 2007 season. He led the Goats in scoring during his first year with the club, finishing fifth in the league with 12 goals in 28 regular season appearances.
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Alvarez would still be in MLS if his career had not been cut short due to medical conditions.
Now 29, he defected in 2008, leaving the Cuban U-23 squad in Tampa during the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. He spent three years in the United Soccer Leagues, playing with the Austin Aztex and moving with the club to Orlando before signing with Real Salt Lake late in the 2011 season.
Alvarez made 38 MLS appearances for RSL, helping the club reach the 2013 MLS Cup Final before being loaned back to Orlando City ahead of the 2014 season. As part of the loan deal, Alvarez would play with Orlando in 2014 and join their inaugural MLS roster for the 2015 season. But before that could happen, Alvarez was forced to retire in August due to a career-ending medical condition, and he now coaches in Orlando City's youth system.
Sebrango had the longest career in North America of all the Cubans, emigrating to Canada from Cuba in 1999 before spending 12 years playing in the minor leagues. A longtime Montreal Impact player, Sebrango made the jump to MLS with the Impact in 2012, registering seven MLS appearances that year at the age of 39.
Delgado spent the 2004 season with the Colorado Rapids, scoring one goal and tallying three assists in 13 regular-season appearances.
Like Delgado, Martinez was with the Rapids in 2004, notching a lone assist in seven league games.
