Third Cuban player missing in Canada

EDMONTON, Alberta, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Three players from the Cuban all-star team at the 2008 World Junior Triple A Baseball Championships in Edmonton have defected, officials say.

The Cuban coach confirmed through a liaison Saturday that a third player was missing in the Canadian city, the Edmonton Journal reported.

"The (first) two (Noel Arguelles and Jose Iglesias) left, and the one left the next day," team liaison Phyllis Pannebaker told the newspaper. The Journal said a man wearing a Team Cuba uniform said through a translator that pitcher Raydel Sanchez was the third team member missing.

Arguelles and Iglesias disappeared July 27 after playing just game at the championships.

The defections have angered former Cuban President Fidel Castro, the newspaper said, citing a recent online column in which Castro labeled Edmonton a "dumping ground" or "trash bin," according to varying English-language translations.