Marco Rubio plans to upstage Havana embassy opening by denouncing Cuba rapprochement

Marco Rubio: Not a fan of Obama&#039;s Cuba policy

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

published 14 August 2015

As Secretary of State John Kerry is watching the U.S. flag being raised above the American Embassy in Havana for the first time in 54 years, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will be lobbing criticism from the right-leaning Foreign Policy Initiative in New York. The fact that Kerry will meet with Cuban dissidents afterward but did not invite them to the ceremony is a "slap in the face" to the "legitimate representatives of the Cuban people," Rubio will say, according to released excerpts of his speech.

Rubio will also denounce the Iran nuclear deal, calling Obama's diplomacy with both Iran and Cuba examples of "every flawed strategic, moral, and economic notion" behind his foreign policy. "He has been quick to deal with the oppressors, but slow to deal with the oppressed," Rubio will say, pledging to roll back the rapprochement with both Tehran and Havana if elected.

And as a "symbol of solidarity between my administration and those who strive for freedom around the world," Rubio will add, he will invite an unspecified number of "freedom fighters" to his presidential inauguration, should he win in 2016. "President Obama has made no such effort to stand on the side of freedom."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.