Yes, they have defected

Confirmation of the defection of those two Cuban soccer players comes from Cuban television (via ESPN Deportes).  Needless to say, the Cuban government is none too pleased.  Oh well.

The defection was bound to happen when Cuba were drawn in the same group with the USA.  It won't change the result of the group; Cuba are now eliminated and it will be a surprise if they win points against Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago.

I wouldn't be surprised if FIFA sought to rig the World Cup qualifying draw to save Cuba from such "embarrassment" in the future. 

(HT to Joe in the comments of the previous post)