Obama also said the policy for Cuba and the rest of Latin America would be guided by `` the simple principle that what 's good for the people of the Americas is good for the United States . '' `` After eight years of the failed policies of the past , we need new leadership for the future , '' he said . `` After decades of pressing for top-down reform , we need an agenda that advances democracy , security and opportunity from the bottom up . '' Obama called for looser restrictions on travel to Cuba so Cuban-Americans can visit family members relatives as well as allowing larger money transfers to the island , two positions that are popular within the Cuban-American community . Obama , however , may lose votes among Cuban-Americans if they think he is willing to talk with Raúl Castro , the president of Cuba who recently took over leadership of the island nation from his brother , Fidel Castro . Speaking in Miami on Tuesday , Sen. John McCain , the presumptive Republican presidential nominee , blasted Obama for changing his positions on normalization with Cuba and for wanting to `` sit down
MIAMI , Florida -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Sen. Barack Obama told Florida 's Cuban-American community Friday that his Cuba policy would be based on `` libertad '' and freedom for the island nation 's people . Sen. Barack Obama speaks at a Cuban Independence Day event in Miami , Florida , on Friday . `` My policy toward Cuba will be guided by one word : ` libertad , ' '' he said , using the Spanish word for liberty at an event celebrating Cuban Independence Day in Miami , Florida . `` The road to freedom for all Cubans must begin with justice for Cuba 's political prisoners , the right of free speech , a free press , freedom of assembly , and it must lead to elections that are free and fair , '' Obama said . `` That is my commitment . `` I wo n't stand for this injustice ; you will not stand for this injustice , and together we will stand up for freedom in Cuba . That will be my commitment as president of the United States of America , '' he said . Watch Obama call for freedom in Cuba ''