Hillary Clinton made a case Thursday for lifting the embargo on Cuba, describing it as “Castro’s best friend” and signaling she does not fear any potential political backlash in Florida by suggesting the U.S. normalize relations with the island nation.

In an appearance in New York hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, the former secretary of state said, “I think we should advocate for the end of the embargo. We should advocate for normalizing relations and see what they (Cuban officials) do.”