Latest news with #Cuban-born
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Homecoming for Froese
One of the finest talents produced on a Manitoban soccer pitch has returned home. Kianz Froese, the Cuban-born and Winnipeg-raised attacking midfielder, agreed to a contract with Valour FC, the city's Canadian Premier League side, on Wednesday. The deal secures the 29-year-old for the remainder of the season, with an option for the club to bring him back in 2026. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Cuban-born, Winnipeg-raised midfielder Kianz Froese signed with the Winnipeg's Valour FC on Wednesday. 'I think he's one of the best players that Manitoba has produced,' said an excited head coach and GM Phillip Dos Santos, who first crossed paths with Froese as a teenager on the youth national team. Valour's goalkeeper coach, Patrick Di Stefani, coached Froese during their time with Manitoba's provincial program. 'He has a track record that — for any young Manitoba player — you look at and say, 'Man, I would like to have a career like the one he's had,'' Dos Santos added. 'And he's young, he's 29, he still has very good years ahead of him.' Froese hasn't played at home since he was 16. He's spent the last seven years playing professionally in Germany, where his mettle was tested while playing in the country's lower divisions with Fortuna Düsseldorf II, FC Saarbrücken, TSV Havelse and SV Wehen Wiesbaden. 'Hard,' Froese, who netted 32 goals in 190 matches, said of his time in Germany. 'It's a hard thing when you go abroad and get used to Germany as a culture. Extremely different. I mean, Canadians are extremely nice when you think about the culture and the way they treat you, and there, I think it's very demanding, in terms of sport, in terms of pressure — they are on it when it comes to sports. 'I had to adapt to that at the start. Then I got used to it. And then, obviously, at some point I didn't really remember it, but now I'm able to reflect back and say, 'Hey, look at the differences,' so it's kind of like a reflective time period right now for me.' Froese was a sensation as a young player in the Garden City area. It didn't take long for him to earn the attention of evaluators at the provincial and national level, as he later went on to play for Team Manitoba and take part in the National Training Camp (NTC) program. At 16, he joined the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy and quickly ascended through the ranks to make his professional debut in Major League Soccer in 2014. At 19, Froese made his debut with the Canadian men's national team in a friendly against Ghana, the first of two international caps he's earned. Now he returns to the place where it all started, with a wealth of experience behind him. 'I think it's nice to be in a familiar environment,' said Froese, who had offers to continue playing in Germany last year but decided to go back to Cuba. 'That's just part of who I am, in a sense, and even if I don't remember everything, I still feel that being back where I grew up, where I spent those early years, formative years of my life, is just a nice thing for me.' This was the right time for him to join a new club. If he didn't do it now, he said, it's unlikely he would've ever returned to the pitch. 'That's sort of the main point, and the reason why I chose Valour over whatever else I could have done, because that's kind of what I'm looking for.' Froese is exactly what Valour needs right now. Dos Santos credited him with possessing a level of decision-making and 'game intelligence' in the final third that the club is looking for. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Valour's head coach Phillip Dos Santos has high hopes that midfielder Kianz Froese (centre) will be the boost the club needs to climb in the Canadian Premier League standings. Winnipeg's side is once again struggling for offensive production. Valour, which currently sits seventh in a table of eight teams at 2-6-2, has nine goals in eight matches this season, tied with Vancouver FC for the second-fewest behind Pacific FC. 'Everyone sees it,' said Dos Santos. 'I think the common observer could see that. We were looking at our last five league games, where you outshoot the opposition… (but) there's actually an opportunity to maybe get in and put a teammate into closer spaces. So I think that he's a player that's going to give us that. He's a player that's gonna read those moments and increase the quality that we could have in those positions.' This will be Froese's debut season in the CPL. He is perhaps the biggest homegrown player that fans can cheer for since his once-close friend Marco Bustos, who scored seven times in Valour's inaugural season, then fled to West Coast rival Pacific. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'Quality. Clarity in the final third. Explosiveness in space. We're not talking about straight-line fast here, we're talking about football fast. Experience — so many things,' Dos Santos said of Froese. 'Definition, goals, assists — but again, there's a process and the process is that it's still a player that's going to need time to get rhythm.' Dos Santos said it will be 'a few weeks' before Froese dons Valour's colours in a match. His last game action was July 2024, so the first step is re-establishing his conditioning for a 90-minute contest. 'He's almost going through a pre-season right now, so we're gonna take our time with him and make sure we have a healthy fit, and that he's ready when he's gonna step on the field for the first day,' Dos Santos said. Valour hosts second-place Forge FC (5-5-0) at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday (3:30 p.m.). Joshua Frey-SamReporter Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh. Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
New York Post
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
MLB star turned real estate developer Alex Guerrero asks $75M for a Miami spec mansion — with an 18-car garage
A former Los Angeles Dodger is selling a $75 million home base in Miami. Alex Guerrero went from Dodger to developer. The Cuban-born power hitter previously made a name for himself playing for the Dodgers and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League before retiring several years ago. Now he's building luxury properties in Miami. 7 Alex Guerrero, pictured in 2015. Getty Images 7 A rendering of the spec house built by Guerrero. REDVERTEX Guerrero's most recent project along Miami's Millionaire's Row is hitting the market for that massive sum, the Wall Street Journal reported. Lourdes Alatriste of Douglas Elliman is representing the listing. When finished, the spec house on North Bay Road will span 10,250 square feet. The ultra-modern home enjoys 110 feet of waterfront, with dockage enough for a 90-foot yacht. The residence's half-acre spot along North Bay Road puts it in league with neighboring homes owned by the Beckhams, Cindy Crawford and Karlie Kloss. David and Victoria Beckham purchased a $72.24 million nine-bedroom home along North Bay in October 2024, notching the road's most expensive residential sale ever. 7 Guerrero, 38, has transitioned from professional baseball to luxury building. AP 7 A rendering of the home's landscaping. REDVERTEX 7 The property is unfinished, with the intention of finding a buyer eager to customize it. REDVERTEX Guerrero's development, constructed by Valle Valle & Partners, is designed to attract the same kind of buyers. The property boasts three kitchens, including an outdoor kitchen and a catering kitchen designed for large parties. Among its seven planned bedrooms is a 1,500-square-foot primary suite with a private garden, a cold plunge and a balcony overlooking Biscayne Bay. The trophy estate will also feature an infinity-edge pool and a hot tub. The real MVP of Guerrero's project, however, is the 18-car garage, accessed through a sensor-activated waterfall. The space includes a three-car air-conditioned garage and a 15-car undercarriage garage. 7 Guerrero played professionally in Japan followed his time with the LA Dodgers. AP 7 The view from the property's 110-foot waterfront along Biscayne Bay. REDVERTEX The home is projected to be completed in 2026, but Alatriste told the Journal that Guerrero is selling now in order to allow the home's buyer to customize their multimillion dollar investment. The former baseball pro played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2013 to 2016. Guerrero then joined Japan's professional baseball league before retiring and moving on to real estate. Guerrero has success in 2023 when he sold a Palm Island home in 2023 for $17 million, the Journal reported. Guerrero bought the site of his North Bay Road development that same year for $13.6 million, and now hopes to more than quintuple that investment.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What to know about Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho, Cuban activist who might be deported
In June 2025, a claim (archived) circulated online that the Cuban-born "Latinos for Trump" leader and activist Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho was arrested by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement and was awaiting deportation. Womp inPoliticalHumor A Reddit post included an image that read: "'Latinos for Trump' leader Hector Luis Valdes Cocho, a Cuban activist who rallied others to vote for Trump, was picked up by ICE and is in a detention center waiting to be deported." The claim also appeared on Facebook (archived), X (archived), Threads (archived), Instagram (archived), Bluesky (archived) and TikTok (archived) dating to February (archived) 2025 (archived). Snopes readers messaged us about claims surrounding the arrest of Valdés starting in February. According to the ICE's Online Detainee Locator System, a Hector Luis Valdes-Cocho born in Cuba was in ICE custody at Otay Mesa Detention Center in California at the time of this writing. Snopes was unable to view the details of Valdés' immigration case without his alien registration number (also known as an A-Number), which is not generally publicly available information. Therefore, it was not possible to confirm whether Valdés was facing deportation at the time of this writing. ICE detains people for reasons including "to ensure their presence for immigration proceedings, to facilitate removals to their countries of citizenship, and to protect public safety." Furthermore, though popular online claims said Valdés was a leader in the Latinos for Trump campaign movement, we found no credible reports linking him to this particular group (archived, archived, archived, archived). Valdés' Facebook and Instagram accounts were inactive at the time of this writing, so they could not provide additional information about his political activities. We reached out to ICE for any information it could provide about the status of Valdés' immigration case and potential deportation. We also reached out to the former co-chairs of Latinos for Trump, Jeanette M. Nuñez and Margarita Paláu-Hernández, to ask if they could confirm or deny Valdés' involvement with the group. We await replies to our queries. ICE's locator system did not include a picture of the Hector Luis Valdes-Cocho the agency detained. CiberCuba, an online newspaper founded by Cuban expatriates, said that the person detained by ICE in California (and previously Florida) was the same person who featured in the claims in this article. When asked about the authenticity of a mug shot (archived) showing Valdés during an arrest in November 2024, a spokesperson for Orange County, Florida, jail told Snopes they were prohibited under federal law from disclosing or otherwise permitting to be made public "the name or other information relating to ICE inmates," further indicating that the Valdés arrested in November 2024 was the same person detained by ICE at the time of this writing. Valdés was a journalist and anti-government activist in Cuba before he was forced into exile in January 2022. It was unclear when and how he arrived in the U.S. In April 2024, Partido del Pueblo, a self-described right-wing political party founded to counter the Communist Party of Cuba, posted (archived) a picture on Instagram of Valdés holding a Trump 2024 banner and said it was taken in Michigan. It was also unclear at the time of this writing exactly how Valdés ended up in ICE detention. In November 2024, CiberCuba reported that Valdés was arrested by Orange County sheriff's deputies in Florida. The report referenced a mug shot of Valdés from a Facebook page that reposts mug shots from Orange County. CiberCuba's report said the arrest was for failure to appear in a traffic violation case. A spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff's Office said it carried out the arrest on an out-of-county warrant. We contacted the Osceola County Sheriff's Office on the Orange County department's recommendation to ask what the warrant was for. At the time of his arrest, multiple Cuban journalists and activists accused Valdés of failing to repay loans, according to CiberCuba. It was unclear whether any of the accusations led to criminal charges or, in turn, to ICE detention. Then, in February 2025, CiberCuba reported that it found Valdés on ICE's online detainee locator detained in Florida. It was unclear when ICE moved Valdés to California, where the locator said he was detained at the time of this writing. News of Valdés' ICE detention came as the Trump administration paused and aimed to terminate a number of humanitarian parole programs, including one for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. In May 2025, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to pause the program, and with it the short-term lawful status granted to citizens of the named countries under the program, making them deportable. It was unclear whether Valdés gained lawful status in the U.S. under the CHNV program and whether he was affected by the Trump administration's pause. The program grants short-term lawful status to successful applicants, usually around two years, which would have expired by 2025. "Amnesty International Names Prisoners of Conscience in Cuba." Amnesty International, 19 Aug. 2021, "CPJ Welcomes El Salvador's Acceptance of 2 Journalists Expelled from Cuba." Committee to Protect Journalists, 6 Jan. 2022, "Cuba." United States Department of State, Accessed 11 June 2025. "Cuban Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho Is in ICE Custody in Florida." CiberCuba, 1 Feb. 2025, Derby, Kevin. "Mike Pence, Jeanette Nuñez Launch Latinos for Trump." Florida Daily, 25 June 2019, Detain | ICE. 17 Aug. 2020, Echavarri, Fernanda. "Latinos for Trump Co-Chair Boasts of a Country That 'Has Opened Doors.'" Mother Jones, Accessed 11 June 2025. "El Partido Del Pueblo ." Facebook, "Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho" and "Latinos for Trump" - Google Search. Accessed 11 June 2025. "Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho" and "Latinos for Trump" - Search News. Accessed 11 June 2025. "Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho" and "Latinos for Trump" - Yahoo Search Results. Accessed 11 June 2025. "Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho" and "Latinos for Trump" at DuckDuckGo. Accessed 11 June 2025. "Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho Arrested in the U.S. amid Scandal over Scams." CiberCuba, 22 Nov. 2024, Litigation-Related Update: Supreme Court Stay of CHNV Preliminary Injunction | USCIS. 6 June 2025, Online Detainee Locator System. Accessed 11 June 2025. Orange County Mugshots. "VALDESCOCHO, HECTOR LUIS." Facebook, 20 Nov. 2025, @pdpcuba. "Nuestro Consejero de Seguridad Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho Desde Michigan." Instagram, 24 Apr. 2022, Schmidt, Samantha. "Cuba's Internet Comes Back on — and Reveals Scenes of a Crackdown." The Washington Post, 14 June 2021, "Securing Our Borders." The White House, 21 Jan. 2025, Totenberg, Nina. "Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to End Humanitarian Status for Some Migrants." NPR, 30 May 2025. NPR,
Tom's Guide
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
5 best Ana de Armas movies to stream right now
In the 10 years since she made her English-language film debut, Cuban-born actress Ana de Armas has become one of Hollywood's top rising stars, moving from supporting roles to lead parts in blockbusters and awards contenders. Even in her earliest appearances in American films, including Eli Roth's trashy thriller 'Knock Knock' and the rote boxing biopic 'Hands of Stone,' she makes a strong impression with limited screen time. She's gone on to star in big-budget streaming movies like Netflix's 'The Gray Man' (with Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling) and Apple TV Plus' 'Ghosted' (with Evans again). Now she's taking her career to the next level as the title character in 'Ballerina,' a spin-off of the hugely popular 'John Wick' movies, hitting theaters June 6. Here are five Ana de Armas movies to check out before watching 'Ballerina." As the seemingly timid nurse to wealthy novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), de Armas is the stealth heroine of writer-director Rian Johnson's clever murder mystery. At first, de Armas' Marta appears overwhelmed by Harlan's obnoxious family members, following his mysterious death. But even when she becomes the target of their suspicions, Marta maintains her integrity and compassion, finding an understanding ally in renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). In a cast full of major stars — including Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Toni Collette and Michael Shannon as Harlan's extended family — de Armas emerges as the most engaging presence, and Marta provides the story's anchor. Craig may have gone on to solve more mysteries as Benoit Blanc, but he's not the only one who makes a lasting impression. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Watch on Prime Video The decades-later sequel to sci-fi classic 'Blade Runner' explores the intersection between humanity and artificial life, placing de Armas in the middle of that divide as Joi, the holographic girlfriend of android protagonist K (Ryan Gosling). K is a blade runner, which means that he hunts down his fellow replicants when they go rogue. His latest assignment puts him on the trail of a conspiracy, which leads him to former blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford). Joi functions as a sounding board and support system for K, but she's not just a glorified assistant. She has needs and desires of her own, even if she can never physically touch her lover. One of the movie's most affecting scenes involves Joi employing a replicant surrogate so that she and K can have sex, and de Armas beautifully expresses that sense of longing and frustration. Rent/buy at Apple or Amazon De Armas shows up for just one extended sequence in Daniel Craig's final movie as superspy James Bond, but she gives the somewhat bloated movie a jolt of energy and leaves the audience wanting more once she disappears. She plays Paloma, a rookie CIA agent sent by Bond's American ally Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) to aid him on a mission in Cuba. While Bond is suave, confident and sometimes overly serious, Paloma is exuberant and a bit nervous, but she proves to be resourceful when the moment arises. De Armas shows off her charisma and her skills as an action hero, and Paloma looks like a prime candidate for a potential spin-off. That probably won't happen in the current Bond era, but 'No Time to Die' offers a glimpse into de Armas' future ability to carry an action franchise. Rent/buy at Apple or Amazon De Armas brings nuance and heartfelt emotion to a fairly thankless role in director Todd Phillips' fact-based dramedy about a pair of friends who become unlikely international arms dealers. De Armas plays the concerned wife of David Packouz (Miles Teller), an aimless dreamer who seems to find his calling when he reconnects with his childhood best friend Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and is introduced to the shady world of contract bidding for the Department of Defense. Although de Armas' Iz spends most of her time sitting at home worrying about David's safety and getting angry about his lies, de Armas effectively conveys the anguish and frustration of Iz's position, grounding the story in a familiar dynamic. As David and Efraim travel around the world, getting themselves deeper and deeper into trouble, Iz provides a sensible, relatable counterpoint to the mayhem. Rent/buy at Apple or Amazon Director Andrew Dominik's fictionalized biopic about Marilyn Monroe is a bit of a disastrous mess, with bold stylistic experiments that mostly don't pay off. One aspect that Dominik gets right, though, is casting de Armas as the troubled movie star, whose beauty most likely prevented her from getting the respect she sought as an artist. Although the filmmaker puts his protagonist through nearly as much torture as she endured from the actual people in her life, de Armas maintains her poise and vulnerability in a sensitive and empathetic performance that earned her an Oscar nomination. The movie is often tough to watch, but it shows the depth and range that de Armas can bring to a role — which she deserves to showcase in a project more worthy of her talents. Watch on Netflix
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Atlanta Braves Make Major Coaching Move on Monday
Atlanta Braves Make Major Coaching Move on Monday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Atlanta Braves currently hold a 27-31 record, placing them in fourth within the division and well behind the red-hot New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, who were both hovering around .620 winning percentages. Advertisement Contributing to Atlanta's uneven start of the 2025 season has been the loss of rookie right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver, who was recently diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and is expected to miss the remainder of 2025. Amid the turbulence on the field, a significant change has transpired on the coaching front. On Monday, the club announced the return of Fredi González as third base coach. Simultaneously, longtime Braves coach Matt Tuiasosopo has accepted a new role as the organization's Minor League Infield Coordinator. González, a Cuban-born coach and manager now 61 years old, is a familiar face in Atlanta. Advertisement He began his Major League coaching career with the Braves as a third base coach from 2003-2006 before being hired to manage the Florida Marlins in October 2006. Over four seasons in Miami, González guided the Marlins to back-to-back winning records in 2008 and 2009 and was honored as Sporting News Manager of the Year in 2008 after leading the Marlins to an 84-77 record. Atlanta lured González back in October 2010, naming him the successor to legendary skipper Bobby Cox. Atlanta Braves pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver (32)© Brad Mills-Imagn Images In his five-year tenure (2011-2016), González took the Braves to the playoffs in both 2012 and 2013, compiling an overall managerial record of 434-413. Advertisement After parting ways with the Braves in May 2016, González spent stints with the Miami Marlins (third base coach, 2017-18) and Baltimore Orioles (bench coach, 2019-21). His return to Atlanta reunites him with a front office overseen by Alex Anthopoulos and a managerial staff led by Brian Snitker. Related: MLB Sends Strong Message Before Dodgers-Mets Series Related: Angels Announce Major Mike Trout Decision on Friday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
