Washington, August 1 (RHC)-- Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton demanded Congress in Miami, Florida, on Friday to lift the economic, commercial, financial blockade imposed on Cuba since 1962.

In a speech at Florida International University, the former secretary of state urged legislators to take this decisive opportunity, in the wake of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two nations and the reopening of embassies in the respective capitals on July 20th.

The U.S. policy on Cuba is at a crossroads and the elections next year for the White House will determine if we take a new course on this issue or go back to old practices of the past, she said.
“We must decide between commitment and sanctions, between adopting a new thinking and go back to the dead point where we were during the Cold War,” she added.

Hillary Clinton said that even many Republicans in Congress are starting to acknowledge the urgency to dismantle sanctions and this is the moment when leaders must join this task or get out of the way of those who carry it out.

She stated the blockade must end “once and for all,” to replace it with what she called "more intelligent measures to reinforce U.S. interests,” and urged the Democratic leadership in Congress to join this policy.

A survey conducted by McClatchy-Marist Institute for Public Opinion released on Friday found that 44 percent of possible voters prefer Clinton for U.S. president in 2016, 29 percent prefer Republican Jeb Bush and 20 percent prefer the controversial hopeful Donald Trump.