Ban against Hugo Calderano exposes threat to international events in the US

When Brazilian Hugo Calderano, number 3 of the worldwide table tennis ranking, announced that he was outside the Grand Smash Wtt in Las Vegas because of bureaucratic obstacles to enter the United States, the impact was felt far beyond the courts. The absence of one of the biggest names in the sport today was not for injury, lack of preparation or refusal – it was a direct result of a migratory policy that becomes more opaque, arbitrary and excluding, including elite athletes.

With Portuguese citizenship, Calderano could enter the US through the visa exemption program (this). But it was informed, after contact with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), that his entry was vetoed for visiting Cuba in 2023 to play the Pan American Championship, an official event of the Olympic calendar.

What seems like a technical detail hides a highly selective and punitive political gear that criminalizes legitimate, professional and, in many cases, diplomatic trajectories. Calderano, like other athletes, researchers and human rights advocates, has become the victim of a migratory system that operates for political assumptions disguised as national security.

The policy of the exception: Cuba as a pretext, exclusion as a practice

The rule that prevented the entry of Calderano was implemented in January 2021, and reinforced during Biden management, which kept Cuba on the list of countries “sponsors of terrorism”, alongside Iran, North Korea and Syria. Any foreigner who has gone through these countries since that date automatically loses the right to it, even if the trip has been for humanitarian, academic or sports purposes.

Politics is as adamant as contradictory: the US maintains trade relations with countries accused of systematically violating human rights, but rigidly sanction those who had any bond with Cuba, even if of official sports character.

In the case of Calderano, the ban did not take into account the context of the trip, the absence of political bond with the Cuban regime or its acting as an ambassador of the world sport. Worse, even with the support of the US Table Tennis Association and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the athlete did not even get an emergency interview for the regular visa.

The cost of paranoia: international events at risk

The rigidity of US borders is becoming a direct threat to major international events. With the 2026 World Cup and the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 on the horizon, the country’s disability to guarantee clear, fast and predictable entry rules raise legitimate doubts about whether the US is prepared to be global hosts.

Vice President Jd Vance himself, during a conference on the World Cup, mocked the deportation of fans who are beyond the time allowed, suggesting an atmosphere of threat and distrust against foreigners.

“We will have visitors from almost 100 countries. We want them to come…” said Vance. “But when time is over, they will have to go home, otherwise they will have to talk to the secretary [de Segurança Interna] Noem. ” This is Kristi Noem, the woman who has shot on her own dog. It’s not someone you want to talk to when she’s in a bad mood. ” This is not just a public relations problem – it is an obstacle to cultural, scientific and sports diplomacy.

From sport to science: a border that filters ideologies

Calderano is not alone. Researchers, students and human rights advocates have reported political interrogations, search for cell phones, cancellation of visas and summary deportations. Cases such as Russian researcher Ksenia Petrova, detained without justification in February, or by Lebanese lawyer Amir Makled, searched and questioned about his personal contacts, reveal that the US border has become a field of data collection and ideological surveillance.

Youtuber Hasan Piker, a US citizen, was arrested for hours when returning from France. According to him, the agents knew who he was and questioned their political opinions, especially about the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Even more serious, restrictions on UN countries such as Haiti, Iran, Yemen and Eritreia are preventing delegations from attending official meetings in the United Nations, headquartered in New York. The case of ABDUL-RAHMAN KOROMA, an activist of Sierra Leoa prevented from presenting a documentary about disability and climate, symbolizes the growing US isolation on global themes.

The diplomacy of algorithms: control without transparency

American migratory logic is based on vague decrees and discretionary interpretations, such as executive Orders 14161 and 14188, which allow you to block foreigners for “ideology” or “risk to public order”. The absence of transparent criteria and the possibility of inspection of electronic devices create a prior punishment system without the right to defense.

According to ACLU, even Green Cards and Valid Visas do not protect travelers, who may have their devices confiscated or their entrance denied by refusing to provide passwords. The right to privacy, in these cases, is suspended in the “no man’s land” between landing and immigration.

A bureaucracy against the world

Hugo Calderano’s case widens more than a technical failure: it reveals how much the US migratory bureaucracy has become an instrument of selective deletion, safety. The country that is intended to be global leadership cannot operate under secret, ideological or punitive criteria, especially when it is committed to hosting the largest sports, cultural and academic events on the planet.

If even an elite athlete, with European citizenship and bilateral institutional support, is barred for visiting Cuba on a sports mission, what about students, researchers, artists and activists from poor countries?

This policy is not only isolates individuals. Isolates the United States of the world itself.