Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton today called for the end of the Cuban embargo while speaking in Florida.

The former secretary of state has expressed support for improving relations with the island nation since the Obama administration announced a rapprochement late last year.

Clinton, who is leading in the polls among the Democratic candidates, gave a speech at Florida International University Friday morning, expressing her support for improved U.S.-Cuba relations and calling on Congress to act.

 "Today I am calling on [House] Speaker [John] Boehner and [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell to step up and answer the pleas of the Cuban people," she added. "By large majorities, they want a closer relationship with America. They want to buy our goods, read our books, surf our web, and learn from our people. They want to bring their country into the 21st century. That is the road toward democracy and dignity, and we should walk it together."

A poll conducted in April found 96 percent of Cubans do not favor the embargo and overwhelming majorities believe ending the embargo and normalizing relations would improve live in the island.

"Engagement is not a gift to the Castros. It's a threat to the Castros," she continued. "An American embassy in Havana isn't a concession. It's a beacon. Lifting the embargo doesn't set back the advance of freedom. It advances freedom."

However, she also expressed skepticism but reassured the audience that this path was the correct one after decades of failure.

"As many of you know, I've been skeptical too," Clinton explained. "But you've been promised progress for 50 years, and we can't wait any longer for a failed policy to bear fruit. We have to seize this moment."

A majority of Americans also think it's the right time and favor both ending the embargo and normalizing relations with the communist nation. Another poll by the Benenson Strategy Group and SDKnickerbocker called Beyond the Beltway shows Americans of all political leanings favor the ending the embargo.

Overall, 64 percent of voters favor ending the embargo, with 74 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of Republicans also approve of the move.

However, her Republican opponents do not agree with the administration and Clinton. Following her speech, the campaign of former Florida governor Jeb Bush criticized Clinton for her decision to go to Florida to announce her support for the end of the embargo.

"It's insulting to many residents of Miami for Hillary Clinton to come here to endorse a retreat in the struggle for democracy in Cuba," he said in a statement, recounting the state's history as a haven for those fleeing the island.

"The American people deserve principled leaders who will stand up to our adversaries and stand up for our values. Secretary Clinton's politically expedient embrace of President Obama's unilateral concessions to Cuba makes clear she will do neither," Bush continued.

He added that she had turned back on her word, having claimed earlier that the embargo should be lifted when Cuba starts embracing democracy. Yet, during her speech, Clinton said the embargo was a policy of the past.

"We must decide between engagement and embargo -- between embracing fresh thinking and returning to Cold War deadlock," she said.

Despite the opposition from the Republican candidates, members of their party in the Senate have already introduced legislation to lift the embargo.