Cuba has decided to maintain its ban on baseball players who defected the country and will not allow them to represent Cuba in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Antonio Becali, president of Cuba's National Institute of Sports, said the country will be using only those players who have remained in their native land for international events.

"Cuba will continue with our athletes. That's something we will keep as indissoluble principle," Becali said. "Our athletes that are within the Cuban sporting system and our National leagues are those that will continue to represent us at international events."

This ruling applies to all players who have defected -- not just those who ended up in the U.S. There was an all-time high of 150 player defections from Cuba in 2015.