Beisbol Been Berry Berry Bad to, um, the U.S. Treasury

Matt Welch | December 15, 2005

Next March, baseball fans will be treated to something new in the history of the sport -- a 16-team tournament featuring the best players from the best baseball playing countries in the world. For months, the most intriguing question was whether Fidel Castro would field a team from the Caribbean's historical cradle of beisbol. To the surprise of many, he agreed.

And to the surprise of few, the Treasury Dept.'s awful Office of Foreign Assets Control has now ruled that the Cubanos can't come, because of the it's-really-gonna-start-paying-off-one-of-these-days Cuban embargo. My favorite OFACker quote:

"It is our policy that we do not confirm, deny or discuss licenses," Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

After all, what business is it of ours what stupid decisions the government makes?

Previous episodes of OFAC's Cuban foolishness here, here, and here. (Link via Baseball Primer.)