Former Polish president Lech Wałęsa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, suggested to Cubans in Florida that they take advantage of US President Donald Trump to achieve change on the island, but warned that he will not bring them freedom.
Lech Wałęsa, who in 1990 became Poland's first democratically elected president since 1926, compared Cuba's current struggle to the one he led to end the communist regime in 1989. He recalled that his movement took advantage of having a Polish pope, John Paul II, and urged Cubans to do the same with Trump.
"You need to take advantage of Trump because he is moving in the right direction but remember that he is moving in the direction of US interests, not Cuban interests. So you need to be prepared for all of this to converge," Wałęsa replied to a question from EFE.
The Cuban Diaspora Museum, the Cuban Resistance Assembly, and other exile organizations recognized Wałęsa as the first "Ambassador of Freedom for Cuba," considering that "the fall of the regime" is closer than ever due to Trump's policies and those of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is of Cuban origin.
Washington has increased pressure on Havana following the intervention in Venezuela that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro on January 3, the cutoff of Venezuelan crude oil supplies to the island, and the declaration of a "national emergency" to sanction countries that supply petroleum to Cuba.
Wałęsa told exiles that they have the opportunity for a quick victory, but that is when the problems will begin, with the risk of civil war. "So I wish you freedom and, truly, I am asking you — let me take part in your victory parade in Cuba. Hurry up," expressed the 82-year-old former president.
He also revealed a conversation last week with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, telling her she gave her Nobel Prize to Trump too quickly and too easily. He added that he will stay in contact and take part in the struggle for the freedom of Venezuela and Cuba.
