Washington (CNN) Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said Sunday he is confident that President-elect Donald Trump will stake a hard line on Cuba, and in the wake of Fidel Castro's death said efforts should focus on promoting democracy there.

"Our goal is the national security and national interests of the United States and, as part of that, to do everything possible through our foreign policy towards Cuba to incentivize and pave the way for the move toward democracy," Rubio told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union"

Trump has previously said he would roll back efforts by President Barack Obama to normalize relations with the country, marked in part by the re-opening of the US embassy there. But Rubio -- a staunch Obama critic on the issue -- said any effort would have to be weighed against national security.

"If there's a policy that helps that, it remains in place. And if it's a policy that doesn't, it's removed. And that's what I would encourage them to do. And I look forward to working with them on that," he said.

But Trump's own position has become a question because his public statements taking a hard line on Cuba appear to be at odds with his comments to CNN's Wolf Blitzer earlier this year that he would like to open a hotel there.

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