(CNN)–Senator Chris Dodd says the current U.S. policy toward Cuba is not working, and offered his own proposal.
"Our Cuba policy has neither served America's interests nor brought democracy to Cuba. It has only served to strengthen the current regime," the Democrat from Connecticut said in a campaign release. "I am proposing these changes to the current policy because they make sense and are the right thing to do – for the Cuban people, but more importantly for America. And I refuse to let Fidel Castro or his successor determine the timetable for setting America's policy."
Dodd, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said he would end the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba, open Cuban markets to American farmers, bring families closer together by lifting travel restrictions and cap remittances, and opening a full American embassy in Havana.
Dodd spoke in Miami on Saturday, a day before he and the other Democratic candidates are to appear in a debate hosted by Univision.
- CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford