America Caving into 'Tyrannical' Cuba, Gov. Rick Scott Says

President Barack Obama’s Wednesday announcement that America would begin moving toward more normalized relations with Cuba wasn’t good news for everyone.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott says the time is not right. He would prefer to see current sanctions and the embargo against the nation to Florida’s south stay intact “as long as Cuba chooses dictatorship over democracy,” WPTV quoted him as saying.

“President Obama is giving into a tyrannical government that does not value human rights and completely disregards the people of Cuba who are fighting for democracy,” Scott said in a statement released by his office.

The governor is also unhappy about Obama’s move to trade prisoners for the release of American hostage Allen Gross. While he’s happy Gross is safely back on American soil after five years in captivity, Scott says a trade should never have been completed.

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“It’s disappointing what President Obama has done, trading (Allen Gross) for spies that killed Americans, starting trade relations or diplomatic relations with a totalitarian regime that doesn’t respect its own citizens, doesn’t believe in human rights or democracy,” Scott was quoted by WPBF as saying.

Scott doesn’t stand alone in his criticism of Obama’s move.

The Tampa Bay Times collected a roundup of statements from Florida politicians on both sides of the aisle. Republicans sharply criticized the move while Democrats praised it.

“Tampa Bay area families and businesses played an important role in the normalization of relations with Cuba announced today,” the paper quoted Rep. Kathy Castor, R-Tampa, as saying.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, however, sees the move as just the “latest in a long line of failed attempts by President Obama to appease rogue regimes at all cost.”

What are your thoughts on this? Is it time to normalize relations with Cuba or should America stand its ground? Share your opinions by commenting below!