Red, White, and… Venezuela: WBC Final Brings More Than Just Baseball

On Tuesday night at 8 p.m., the United States will take to the field at loanDepot in Miami to compete in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) championship game. Our opponent? Venezuela. 

Venezuela earned its spot by beating Italy 4 to 2 on Monday night, while the U.S. did the same with a 2 to 1 victory over the Dominican Republic on Sunday. 

It's funny — given that I mostly write about Latin American foreign policy, my social media feeds are largely filled with people from the countries I cover. And given recent events, Venezuelans make up a large portion of that. When their team won last night, all I saw were happy, wholesome responses. 

Yes, it was largely national pride, but it almost just seemed like the most fitting match-up — like a game of neighborhood ball. Sure, you want to win — sports are boring without a little friendly rivalry — but the best part is that you get to hang out with your buddies and have a good time no matter what happens. And no matter who wins, it will feel liked a shared victory in some ways, given what we've been through together in recent months. I've literally seen people waving flags for both countries in unison.   

That's how the majority of Venezuelans feel about the United States right now. We're friends, and hopefully, we will be long into the future. I see it on social media. I see it in the people I know. I see it documented in poll after poll.

Our own president congratulated the Venezuelan baseball team from the Oval Office on Tuesday morning, though to be fair, he is currently managing both of our countries.  

#AHORA | 🇺🇸 🇻🇪 Trump afirmó que la relación con Venezuela es “increíble” y positiva para ambas naciones.

Felicitó al equipo venezolano de béisbol por su reciente victoria y señaló que jugarán esta noche. pic.twitter.com/rPgQhaEXtS

— Por la calle del Medio (@plcdelmedionews) March 17, 2026

He even joked about making Venezuela the 51st state on social media on Monday night: 

🚨 LMFAO! President Trump floats making Venezuela the 51ST STATE

“Wow! Venezuela defeated Italy tonight, 4-2, in the WBC (Baseball!) Semifinal. They are looking really great. Good things are happening to Venezuela lately! I wonder what this magic is all about? STATEHOOD, #51,… pic.twitter.com/xkPby2aZXS

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 17, 2026

(I mean, why not? I'd rather have Venezuela than Canada as the 51st U.S. state. One is trying hard to get away from socialism, while the other is embracing it. Plus, traveling to Caribbean beaches sounds a lot better than hanging out in the tundra, but I digress.)  

Anyway, when I went to research the actual game info to write this article, the MSM, as usual, let me down. The tone there was much different from the tone of what I saw from the actual Venezuelan people. It was all negativity and a lot of use of the word "tension" in headlines like this one from CNN: "It’s USA vs. Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final. The Maduro raid and decades of tension simmer under the surface."   

I'm so tired of lazy journalism. What tension? 

In that particular article, CNN's so-called points of "tension" are things like Trump deporting Tren de Aragua (TdA) members last March. 

Well, a lot has happened since then. Will the dying fake news network at least try to keep up? I promise you that no one who will watch or attend that game tonight is thinking about deported gang members unless they actually are one.  

There may have been points of tension between the U.S. government and the narco-terrorists pretending to be the Venezuelan government in the past, maybe, but in case CNN and the others missed it, we're living in a post-Nicolás Maduro world. Times have changed. Get with them. The actual Venezuelan people overwhelmingly love Trump and the United States. 

And they don't just love Trump and the United States — they also love Jesus, and while they've avoided talking politics, the team's players have made their faith clear in interviews, which is quite refreshing to see, and a reminder that we share values and have more in common with most of our Western Hemisphere neighbors than we do with our so-called friends in other parts of the world. 

"First, God’s been good… I have to glorify His name… We believe in God. We pray every day. We give glory to the one and only, Jesus."
- Team Venezuela 3B Eugenio Suarez after their seminal win vs Italy#WorldBaseballClassic

pic.twitter.com/txhZGagXjz

— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) March 17, 2026

As a matter of fact, my friend and our managing editor, Chris Queen, and I were talking about that earlier. "I’d love to see the USA win, of course, but there’s something endearing about how faith-forward the Venezuelan team has been," he told me. "Besides, as a Braves fan, I’m invested in our guys playing for Venezuela. I’ll be happy no matter who wins."  

Chris and I both live in Atlanta, and here in Braves baseball country, everyone is secretly — and not so secretly — cheering for our guy, Ronald Acuña Jr., who is starting for Venezuela.  

Ultimately, like Chris, I will be pulling for the United States to win, of course, but if we don't, I won't hate it. If we were playing, say, the United Kingdom, I would feel a little differently, but for me, this game in 2026 really does feel like a fun match-up between friends. The type of thing where no matter who wins, we all go out and celebrate together after.  

And hey, even everyone's favorite "interim president"/Trump pawn, Delcy Rodríguez, thinks it'll be a fun match-up between friends. Big words for the woman who, just months ago, wanted to see the end of the U.S.  As Venezuelan journalist Orlando Avendaño says here, she's even tutored in baseball. 

“En una contienda sana con Estados Unidos”.

Tutelada hasta en el baseball. https://t.co/tV7i92CnlI

— Orlando Avendaño (@OrlvndoA) March 17, 2026

That said, I'll leave you with this. Team USA has arrived, and they're wearing some lucky charms: game-used jerseys from the U.S. men's hockey team. USA! USA!  

Team USA has arrived to the World Baseball Classic Final in GAME-USED United States Men's National Hockey Team jerseys. pic.twitter.com/EBwF0GeqbR

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 17, 2026

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