US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Poland has played a behind-the-scenes role in Cuba as he hailed a leading dissident from the communist-run island.
Poland invited Rubio as it honored Berta Soler, the leader of the Ladies in White protest movement, with an award named for Lech Walesa, the union leader who mobilized opposition to communism and was democratically elected as president in 1990 after the Moscow-backed government fell.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski attended the ceremony in Florida, home to a major Cuban diaspora that includes Rubio, a fierce critic of Havana.
Rubio said without further elaboration that he had asked Poland “for a favor” regarding Cuba several months ago.
“It happened instantly and immediately,” Rubio said.
“It shows you that of all the nations in the world who have overcome the tyranny of communism, the one that most certainly hasn’t forgotten what it took to overcome it and have raised their voice and taken action to be supportive of those who seek to overcome it, is our allies and friends in Poland,” Rubio said.
His praise for Poland’s role came despite a social media feud with Sikorski in March when Rubio, backing belittling remarks by Elon Musk, accused the top Polish diplomat of ingratitude over the tech billionaire’s Starlink satellite-based internet in Ukraine.
Poland has been among the European nations most concerned for Ukraine’s future as President Donald Trump reaches out to Russia, although Poland remains a close US ally, with right-wing President Karol Nawrocki meeting Trump at the White House this week.
Rubio, who has ramped up pressure on Cuba since taking office in January, hailed Soler for not leaving the island and instead showing “her willingness to step forward because she identified and saw oppression.”
“I think more people need to know about what she’s done — about how inspirational she is,” Rubio said.
Solder has held regular demonstrations with relatives of prisoners and has been repeatedly arrested.
She addressed the award ceremony with a pre-recorded video.
“Poland and Cuba share a common thread in their history. Both people have suffered communist oppression,” she said.
“Poland freed itself from communism, with the unions leading the struggle,” she said.
“We Cubans continue to fight against communism. We have been fighting for 66 years against communist tyranny.”
