Little League World Series in Latin America

The Latin America Region has competed in the Little League World Series since its creation in 1958.In 1957, the Industrial Little League of Monterrey, Mexico, was the first team from outside the U.S. and Canada to compete in the LLWS. It competed in an area tournament in McAllen, Texas, won the South Region tournament, and defeated the West Region in the championship game. (The only other two regions in the LLWS were the East and North regions.) As a result, the next year (1958), three new regions were created: Latin America, Canada, and Pacific. Two years later, in 1960, a fourth international region was created: Europe. Two years after that, in 1962, the Pacific Region was replaced by the newly created Far East Region. Until 2001, the Latin America Region included Mexico and the Caribbean. In 2001 – when the Little League World Series expanded to sixteen teams – Mexico and the Caribbean were given their own regions. The region is open to all countries on the Latin American mainland, but is typically contested by the teams from Panama and Venezuela. Since the 2001 split, the region has been represented by either Venezuela (11 appearances) or Panama (seven appearances) at the Little League World Series, as of 2019.

Following the 2021 LLWS, Panama and the Caribbean Region countries of Cuba and Puerto Rico will take up two berths in the LLWS. Two of the three will send champions to the LLWS each year, while the third will compete in its normal region; the automatic berths will rotate annually. This scheme is part of a planned expansion of the LLWS from 16 to 20 teams that was originally scheduled to occur for 2021, but was delayed to 2022 due to COVID-19.

Teams from Latin America have won the LLWS title five times, but only four were as the Latin America Region champion. The Industrial Little League of Monterrey, Mexico, won back-to-back titles in 1957 and 1958, but the first title was as the champion of the South Region. The other three LLWS championships were won by Guadalupe, Nuevo León, Mexico, in 1997, and Maracaibo, Venezuela, in 1994 and 2000.

Latin America Region countries

Region champions

U.S. South Region YearChampionCityLLWSRecordIndustrial MonterreyChampions2–0

Latin America Region YearHostChampionCityLLWSRecord Industrial MonterreyChampions3–0 San Juan San JuanQuarterfinals0–1 Industrial Monterrey4th Place1–2 Industrial Monterrey3rd Place2–1 Del Norte Monterrey4th Place1–2 Obispado Monterrey5th Place1–2 Obispado MonterreyRunner-up2–1 Zulia Maracaibo7th Place2–1 Cuauhtémoc Monterrey6th Place1–2 Linares Linares4th Place1–2 Chinandega Chinandega7th Place1–2 Jorge Rosas Mayagüez6th Place1–2 Chinandega Chinandega3rd Place2–1 Caguas Gillette Caguas5th Place2–1 Admiral Gallery San Juan3rd Place1–1 Mitras Monterrey6th Place1–2 Coquivacoa Maracaibo3rd Place2–1 International teams were banned by Little League Puerto Nuevo San Juan3rd Place1–1 Coquivacoa Maracaibo4th Place1–2 La Javilla Santo Domingo4th Place1–2 Luis Llorens Torres Santurce5th Place2–1 Pabao Willemstad5th Place1–2 Unidad Modelo Monterrey7th Place1–2 Coquivacoa Maracaibo5th Place2–1 Liquito Hernández BarahonaRunner-up2–1 Willys R. Cook Bethania5th Place2–1 Coquivacoa Maracaibo5th Place2–1 Coquivacoa Maracaibo4th Place1–2 Rolando Paulino Moca3rd Place1–1 Curundú Curundú7th Place1–2 Coquivacoa Maracaibo3rd Place2–1 Matamoros Matamoros5th Place1–1 Luis Montas San Cristobal5th Place2–1 Epy Guerrero Santo Domingo3rd Place3–1 David Doleguita DavidRunner Up3–2 Coquivacoa MaracaiboChampions5–0 Eduardo Sosa Santo Domingo3rd Place2–2 Matías Ramón Mella San Isidro Air Base3rd Place2–2 Linda Vista GuadalupeChampions5–0 BayamónLinda Vista GuadalupeGroup Stage0–3 MonterreyJuan A. Bibiloni Yabucoa3rd Place3–1 Sierra Maestra MaracaiboChampions4–1 Panama CitySantiago de Veraguas Santiago de VeraguasGroup Stage1–2 ManaguaLos Leones ValenciaQuarterfinals2–2 Mayagüez Altagracia Los PuertosQuarterfinals3–1 Panama CityCurundú Panama CityQuarterfinals3–1 MaracaiboLos Leones ValenciaGroup Stage1–2 Guatemala CityCardenales BarquisimetoQuarterfinals3–1 Panama City La Victoria MaracaiboQuarterfinals3–1 Maracaibo Coquivacoa MaracaiboQuarterfinals2–2 BarranquillaCoquivacoa MaracaiboGroup Stage0–3 Guatemala CityChitré ChitréGroup Stage2–2 San JoséGran Maracay MaracayInt'l Semifinal2–2 AguadulceAguadulce Aguadulce4th Place3–3 GuayaquilAguadulce AguadulceInt'l Semifinal3–2 ManaguaCoquivacoa MaracaiboRound 32–2 BarranquillaCardenales BarquisimetoInt'l Semifinal2–2 Panama CityAguadulce Aguadulce3rd place4–1 BarranquillaLuz Maracaibo MaracaiboRound 32–2 Panama CityVacamonte ArraijánRound 21–2 AguadulceCacique Mara MaracaiboRound 22–2Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemicNo international participant Managua14 de Septiembre ManaguaRound 43–2 MaracaiboSan Francisco MaracaiboRound 31–2 Panama CityCardenales Barquisimeto3rd place5–2 Guayaquil Cardenales BarquisimetoInt'l Semifinal3–2 Guatemala City Ministerio Sobre Las Alas Del Aguila LeónInt'l Semifinal3–2

Panama Region YearChampionCityLLWSRecordAguadulce Cabezera LL Aguadulce, CocléRound 31–2Activo 20–30 LL Santiago de VeraguasRound 32–2Vacamonte LL ArraijanRound 21–2David Doleguita LL DavidRound 20–2

Results by country Table includes results from the Latin America and Panama regions through the 2026 Little League World Series. Italics indicates team no longer competes in Latin America Region. Mexico now has its own region, while Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Curaçao compete in the Caribbean region.

CountryLatin AmericaChampionshipsLLWSChampionshipsRecordin LLWSPCT Venezuela 24 2 54–38 Mexico 13 20–20 Panama 10 0 27–26 Dominican Republic 7 13–10 Puerto Rico 10–8 Nicaragua 4 9–7 Curaçao 1 1–2 Total 66 4 134–111

Little League World Series in Latin America

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