'LG Happy News' Foreign Ace Escapes Venezuela, Joins Camp is imminent! Panama → Miami → Arizona route

*This content was translated by AI.

LG Twins foreign ace Yonny Chirinos (33) will safely leave Venezuela and reunite with his teammates.

The LG club said on the 22nd, "Chirinos entered Miami, Florida, USA via Panama from Venezuela on the 21st local time. After moving to his home in Tampa, Florida, on the 22nd, he will complete his personal maintenance and arrive in Phoenix at 20:35 local time on the 23rd (12:35 Korean time) to join the team, he said.

It's good news. The beginning was a U.S. air strike on Venezuela. U.S. President Donald Trump launched an air strike on Caracas, Venezuela's capital, early on the 3rd and arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

Since then, as pressure on Venezuela continued, much attention has been paid to the safety and future of Venezuelan KBO League outsiders. At the time, the LG club said, "We are currently staying and living eight hours away by car in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. We confirmed that there was no significant impact from this incident," he said.

Despite the news that he was safe, he could not relax until he joined the camp. This is because the Trump administration opened up the possibility of a second airstrike on Venezuela's home country and considered repatriating migrants from Venezuela in the United States. Just being from Venezuela could put pressure on your personal safety.

However, Chirinos' entry into the United States allowed him to significantly reduce the burden. This is largely because Chirinos was guaranteed his status as a major league history, not as an illegal immigrant. Chirinos is a veteran with a 20-17 ERA in 75 games and a 4.22 ERA in six seasons from 2018 to 2024.

Chirinos are not the only ones who have suffered from strict U.S. immigration regulations. The domestic team, which was divided into two teams at Incheon International Airport on the 22nd and 23rd and was scheduled to leave for Arizona, USA, has also been rescheduled.

Eight players, including Park Hae-min, Park Dong-won, Hong Chang-ki, Shin Min-jae, Moon Bo-kyung, Yoo Young-chan, Son Joo-young and Song Seung-ki, who were scheduled to leave the country the previous day (22nd), and three coaches, Kim Kwang-sam, Kim Yong-il and Kim Jong-wook, were scheduled to leave the country due to the U.S. Cabotaji Rule.

Cabotaji Rule is a U.S. airline market protection law that requires customers departing from the U.S. mainland (U.S. territory) to use their own airlines at least once when visiting Guam/Pypan, the U.S. territory (U.S. mainland). These 11 players fall under this clause because they recently went to Saipan, a U.S. territory, as the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) KBO camp.

As a result, Park Hae-min, Park Dong-won, and Hong Chang-ki will leave the country on the 22nd, and the remaining eight (Shin Min-jae, Moon Bo-kyung, Yoo Young-chan, Son Joo-young, Song Seung-ki, Kim Kwang-sam, Kim Yong-il, and Kim Jong-wook) will leave the country on the night of the 23rd.

Fortunately, LG's prompt action allowed the team that manager Yeom Kyung-yeop is confident in to start the spring camp with full strength.

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*This content was translated by AI.