Major league player to testify

Trial focuses on smuggling

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu is expected to testify today in Miami in the federal trial of two South Florida men accused of illegally smuggling him and other Cuban baseball players to the U.S.

Federal authorities say Abreu, 30, paid close to $6 million to people who helped him defect from his native Cuba in 2013.

Prosecutors called Abreu to testify in the trial of Bartolo Hernandez and Julio Estrada, who have pleaded not guilty to allegations that they were heavily involved in the shadowy world of illegal smuggling and funneled Cuban baseball players to the United States for lucrative contracts.

The men also helped smuggle the players’ family members or girlfriends, the indictment alleges.

Lawyers for Hernandez and Estrada say they ran legitimate businesses that helped obtain U.S. major league contracts for Cuban players. They deny any role in falsifying travel documents or smuggling players from the communist country.

If convicted of federal conspiracy and alien-smuggling charges, Hernandez and Estrada would face lengthy federal prison terms. Both men are free on bond as the trial enters its fourth week.

Prosecutors Michael “Pat” Sullivan and H. Ron Davidson said the two men used other people, including boat captains and document forgers, to smuggle 20 players into the U.S. The criminal charges are linked to six players, including Abreu.

The men negotiated freeagent contracts valued at about $150 million for the